A Conflict Of Interest
by Bill K
Summary: Someone wants access to Endymion's computer. What does it have to do with the suave stranger Ves is seeing?
1. Loyalty

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 1: "Loyalty"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2017 by Naoko Takeuchi and are used without permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2017 by Bill K.

* * *

As she entered the infirmary to begin her day, Dr. Ami Mizuno walked to her desk and pressed a crystal stud. Instantly a holographic screen popped up before her. Pressing several prompts got her to the screen she wanted, that being the morning's patient log. Her glasses perched on her nose, the doctor quickly scanned the log. It was light in the infirmary. Patient Konozawa was in room one, in the early stages of child delivery, with Dr. Kazawa handling the case. Patient Tomokazu was in room two, under observation after suffering an electrical shock while maintaining the palace electrical system, with Dr. Gong handling the case.

And Patient Tomoe was in room three, recovering from cardiovascular trauma. Pointing at the name brought up her medical charts. Ami studied them. The cloned tissue repairing the injured heart tissue was being accepted nicely. Hotaru's pulse and blood pressure were low, but in acceptable ranges. She'd slept peacefully through the night and that was the best sign of all. Smiling to herself, Ami suspected why.

Walking over to check her hypothesis, the chief medical officer for Crystal Tokyo peeked into room three. Sure enough, Her Royal Highness The Princess Usagi Small Lady Chiba sat in a chair next to Hotaru's bed, sleeping at an angle that couldn't possibly be comfortable. For a moment Ami just stood and took in this picture of perhaps the most perfect friendship she had ever known in her thousand plus years of life. Then she bent down and touched the Princess's shoulder.

"Huh?" Usa woke with a start. Immediately she felt the cramping in her shoulders and hips. "Man, never fall asleep in these chairs."

"Usa, is that you?" Hotaru ventured weakly. "Are you still here?"

"Well you're still not out of danger yet? Where was I going to go?"

"I imagine your bed would have been much more comfortable," Ami offered with a wry smile.

"I'm OK," Usa maintained. She grimaced as she shifted in the chair.

"I'm sorry for waking you, Hotaru," Ami told her patient. "How are you feeling?"

"OK," Hotaru sighed. "Can I get up?"

"Do you feel strong enough to sit up?" Ami queried curiously.

"Yes."

"Really?" the doctor asked with a critical eye.

"No," Hotaru scowled.

"Then maybe you'd better stay where you are," Ami said gently. "Do you feel like you can handle solid food?"

"I think so."

"I'll have the dietitian send something up." She turned to The Princess. "Are you going to dine in your quarters or should I have something sent up for you, too?"

"Yeah, I'm starved!" Usa nodded enthusiastically.

"You know, your mother and father probably miss you," Ami prodded diplomatically.

"Mom misses me if I go to the bathroom," grunted the pink teen. "She can handle it. I have to be with Hotaru."

"All right," Ami sighed and left.

"You don't have to stay," Hotaru sighed. She struggled to raise her arm, but it barely cleared her bed before it began shaking.

"Hey, don't push yourself!" Usa warned her. Seeing she was reaching for the virtual display stud on the bed control, Usa leaned over and engaged it. Hotaru's medical information came up.

"I want this to be over," Hotaru moaned. "I hate laying in this hospital bed."

"I can relate," Usa replied, swiping screens when Hotaru signaled her. "But you have to do it to get well."

"You don't understand, Usa," Hotaru sighed. "It's all of my old fears and doubts all over again. About how - - frail and sickly I was. And still am, to some degree."

"Garbage," scowled Usa. "You just pushed yourself too far. Why if I had a net point for every time Mom pushed herself too far and scared everybody to death by fainting . . ."

"It's not garbage, Usa," Hotaru relied. "I wasn't there to help you - - because I wasn't strong enough. I gave it everything I had . . ."

"Hotaru," Usa pursed her lips with frustration, "don't. Don't start down this road again. You're the only one who doesn't think you're good enough. There's millions of people out there who wish they could be you. Please stop thinking you're second rate."

Her friend just turned her head away.

"Hey, look at this," Usa said, pointing to the screen in an attempt to distract her friend from the subject at hand. "It looks like all of your early signs are positive. You're the medical student. Am I reading it right?"

Hotaru glanced at the display. "There's no sign of tissue rejection. And the vital signs are acceptable. They're pretty weak, though."

"So? That's good, right? I mean, you weren't expecting to jump on stage with me tonight, were you?"

"As if," Hotaru glanced down, embarrassed. "You've got a show tonight?"

"Well, no," Usa shrugged. "And if I did, I'd cancel it. But the minute you're well, I'm going to drag you on stage with me and make you play piano."

"No, you're not!" Hotaru replied indignantly.

"That's the spirit," Usa smiled.

* * *

Jun wandered into the community room adjacent to the bedrooms of her and her "sisters", still slowed by sleep. Her sensible robe covered sensible pajamas and her green hair fell down her back. Just as she entered the room, though, she heard pounding. Glancing toward the sound, she found Ves standing in front of Cere's door.

"C'mon, wake up!" Ves shouted, pounding on the door. She was fully dressed in boots, combat pants and a maroon muscle shirt. "What are you going to do, sleep all day?" She noticed Jun in the room and shot the girl a mischievous smile.

"Yes!" came a bellowed voice from inside the room. "If you'd go away!"

"If you hadn't been out most of the night with that skinny artist of yours, you wouldn't be sleeping in now!" Ves replied and pounded on the door again.

"Why do you care?" Cere shouted from inside the room. "We don't have school and there's no senshi emergency, so GO AWAY, YOU ANIMAL!"

"Come on! Early bird gets the worm!" Ves taunted and pounded on the door again.

"THAT'S DISGUSTING!" Cere bellowed.

"Let's go! You want people to think you're lazy?" Ves yelled, pounding again, then giggled at Jun.

"Ves, if you don't go away, I swear I will grow a vine and STRANGLE YOU WITH IT!" fumed Cere.

"Try it," Ves grinned. "I'll just turn into an herbivore and eat your stupid plant."

"Come on, Ves, leave her alone," Jun sighed. "If the queen wants to sleep in, let her sleep in."

"Sure, spoil all of my fun," Ves grumbled teasingly. "Fine. Want to head on to the dining hall for breakfast?"

"Better go without me. I have to shower and do my hair first," Jun replied. "And you know how long that takes."

"You ever think about a simplier style?"

Jun grew solemn. She looked at the floor.

"Mi Padre did my hair like this when I was little. He said it told everyone that I was a water goddess walking on Earth," she informed Ves. "I've never changed it - - out of respect for him."

"Good a reason as any," Ves shrugged. She got a grateful smile from Jun. "There's Palla-Palla. Better hit the bathroom now."

"I'm there!" Jun replied and scooted for the bathroom.

"Hey, Palla-Palla. Ready for," Ves began. Then she noticed the mischievous glint in the eyes of the girl. Palla-Palla hadn't even changed out of her footed flannel rabbit pajamas. "What are you smirking about?"

"Why didn't Ves-Ves tell Palla-Palla that she had a boyfriend?" Palla-Palla asked with barely contained glee. She was an incongruous sight: a seventeen year old near woman wearing footed flannel rabbit pajamas.

"What makes you think I've got a boyfriend?" Ves asked, surprised by the statement.

"Well," Palla-Palla grew troubled, "Ves-Ves is going to the dance club tonight. She's going to get all dressed up and look really pretty."

"You been reading my mind again?" Ves scowled.

"And she's going to take her fake ID so she can buy drinks she's not supposed to."

"HEY!"

"Ves-Ves isn't going there to be with a boy?" Palla-Palla asked curiously.

"Well, yeah, that's the plan," Ves grinned. "I just haven't met him yet."

Palla-Palla frowned. "Palla-Palla was sure she was reading the now and not the later. But Palla-Palla messes up a lot and that might have been one of them."

"So is he hot?"

"He was wearing a jacket, so Palla-Palla doesn't think so," the blue-haired Amazon replied innocently.

"Guess I'll have to wait until tonight to find out," Ves sighed. "So, ready to get some breakfast? I could use some."

"Palla-Palla will get changed! You wait right here!" Palla-Palla nodded vigorously. "Palla-Palla wants to have Sugar Bombs! With lots of milk!"

"Wow, there's a shock," chuckled Ves.

But in the back of her mind, Ves wondered about what Palla-Palla may have seen. Now she couldn't wait for it to be evening.

* * *

Given the time they'd spent together since the hospitalization, one would think Hotaru and Usa would have run out of things to talk about. And yet there they were, still chatting over lunch as they had through breakfast and most of the morning. The only thing that had stopped the conversation was when Hotaru drifted off to sleep for an hour. Once, during the middle of the morning, Ami had thought to finally put her foot down and shoo Usa out. But she didn't, because Hotaru was actually showing signs of improvement.

As if the presence of her best friend was actually contributing to her recovery. Even Yutaka's visit hadn't done that.

"And then the crowd just parted and this big," Usa continued, Hotaru managing a weak smile as she hung on her friend's every word. But Usa stopped suddenly. Hotaru looked at her curiously. "Mom's here."

A moment later, Hotaru heard the Queen outside the room, speaking with Ami. Timidly the monarch peeked in.

"Hotaru?" Serenity ventured. "I'm sorry for interrupting. I just wanted to see how you were." The Queen glided into the room.

"I'm feeling better. Thank you," Hotaru answered shyly. "I'm still a little weak - - but I guess that's to be expected."

"I should say so, given what you went through," Serenity said. Both teens could see the barely repressed emotion bubbling under the Queen's surface. "It was a tremendously brave thing you did, and a tremendous sacrifice you made for my daughter. I-I can't say or do anything that would even remotely express my gratitude. My little girl was blessed the day she met you."

Unnoticed by Serenity, Usa sat in the chair staring up at her mother and beaming proudly.

"She needed me," Hotaru shrugged modestly. "I couldn't think of doing anything else."

Serenity looked down. "And at the same time," she said haltingly, "I wish you hadn't put yourself at such a risk. Losing you would have been just as terrible a blow as losing Usa - - for all of us. Please, please don't be so foolhardy with your life."

Hotaru scowled and looked at her hands. This was the same lecture she'd gotten from her friend. Coming from the Queen, though, gave it a lot more weight.

"It's a dilemma, I know," Serenity added, sensing Hotaru's conflict and distress. "Maybe some day we won't have to risk ourselves like this. Maybe some day we can all just live in peace and harmony." She bent down and kissed Hotaru on the forehead. "Please get well. We all miss seeing you around the palace."

"Yes, ma'am," Hotaru said self-consciously.

"And do you think we might see you for a few moments sometime in the next month?" Serenity asked, turning to her erstwhile daughter. "Your baby sister has already forgotten what you look like."

"Mom," sighed Usa. Hotaru looked on with a grin.

"Honestly, I'm about to the point where I'm going to rent out your room," Serenity continued.

"Oh, stop with the guilt, will you? I've got to be with Hotaru!"

"Well, at least you have a good reason," sighed the Queen, "this time. But if the environmental control computer doesn't recognize you anymore, don't blame me." She turned back to Hotaru. "See, that's another reason for you to get well: so my daughter doesn't waste away in that hospital chair."

"Yes, ma'am," Hotaru giggled. "I'll work on it."

"Aren't you scheduled to annoy Luna right about now?" Usa asked pointedly.

The Queen stuck out a very undignified tongue at her daughter, then turned and glided for the door. Ami was there waiting for her, unable to conceal the grin on her face.

Usa sighed. "Sorry about that."

"It's OK," Hotaru smiled. "Between your mom and you, I really do feel a lot better. If you want to take a break . . ."

"Uh uh. I'm sticking until you're well."

"Usa, your mom and dad miss you. And Helios probably does, too. I'll be OK."

"Not moving," Usa stubbornly shook her head. "So where was I? Oh yeah, that guy in the front courtyard. Well, the crowd just parted . . ."

And Hotaru settled back to enjoy the company of her best friend.

* * *

It had been a good day. Ves had attended a soccer match and her favorite team won. She had gotten in a good day's workout in the gym. Senshi training went well, in spite of Cere's usual slacking. While she wished the Princess and Hotaru had been able to attend, their absence was no surprise. The Princess hadn't left Hotaru's side since her hospitalization. Other people in the palace saw Usa's actions as obsessive. But Ves saw them for what they actually were: loyalty. It was something Ves valued highly in life. Usa's demonstration of it was just one more point in her favor in Ves's estimation of Usa's worth. Loyalty was important to her, almost as important as life itself.

Now she was sitting in a local nightclub, wondering about Palla-Palla's premonition. The music was loud and the people for the most part were happy. Ves was dressed in her finest, skirting a fine line between butch and feminine. Ves had once thought she didn't possess a feminine side, but a few tips from Cere, passed through Jun so as to be palatable, had showed her that it was there when she wanted it.

A couple of guys had approached her at different parts of the evening. Neither had possessed a jacket, or any allure to her tastes, so she brushed them off. Now she was nursing a drink and wondering whether she should just forget her sister's proclamation and just dance the night away. A rocks glass with rum and cola scooted across the table from one hand to another.

"This is stupid," Ves thought and downed the last of her drink. "Waiting here for some fairy tale guy to come along. If he comes, he comes. If he don't - - it's his loss." Ves stood up from the table and expertly melted into the crowd on the dance floor.

* * *

As was her habit, Luna began prowling the palace the moment the sun set. It didn't matter that the palace had the most sophisticated electronic security system in the world as well as a well-trained, well-compensated security staff and a security-obsessed king. Luna didn't trust anything other than her own eyes. Serenity once asked the cat when she slept during the day.

The black cat's response was to tell the queen that Artemis did enough sleeping for them both.

"I'm currently on level 3, corridor C," Luna said into the communicator in her collar. She was in contact with Palace Security.

"Yes, Ma'am, we have you on visual," came the response. Luna padded down the hall.

"Audio and visual seem to be working properly," the cat concluded out loud. "Motion, heat and magnetic aura sensors?"

"All green. We've got you on all of them."

"Approaching corridor D," Luna told them. A memory struck her, that of her years ago bringing Diana along with her until it became apparent that Diana had absolutely no interest in the nightly ritual. The cat frowned at the recollection.

"I'm getting a malfunction light from level 2, corridor F," security reported. "Screen's blank and sensors are. . ." There was a momentary pause. "OK, we're back up again."

"Send a detachment to that area," Luna said, turning and heading for the staircase at a full run. "Tell them to specifically concentrate on His Majesty's computer room."

Arriving at the computer room, Luna found the security detachment milling around. Everyone was searching, but there didn't seem to be any evidence of an intruder. After a few moments, King Endymion approached from the staircase.

"I heard the security call," Endymion told the detachment commander. "What have we got?"

"We haven't been able to find anything, Your Majesty" the commander replied briskly.

"Computer," Endymion directed to the palace environmental control computer. "Has the door to room 2F1 been accessed?"

"That door was last accessed on this date at 1436 hours," the computer replied.

"That was me," Endymion murmured, deep in thought.

"It's probably just a momentary glitch in the system," the commander offered. "Central is running a diagnostic now. We . . ."

"He's there!" Luna said suddenly, pointing to a spot near the door. Her nose was sniffing the air, trying to relocate a scent.

Endymion looked and spotted the faint distortion that came from someone wearing a light refraction suit.

Continued in Chapter 2


	2. Thief In The Night

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 2: "Thief In The Night"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

As the guards looked around in confusion, Endymion bolted forward, Luna on his heels. The moment he moved, the King noticed that the distortion moved as well, heading away from the computer room.

"He's wearing a light refraction suit!" Luna shouted back at the befuddled guards. "Come along!" She noticed Endymion was drawing a rose from his jacket. "Security, seal off all access points to level 2!"

"All access points sealing!" came the response. Endymion turned right at a junction.

"Are there any readings on the non-visual sensors?" Luna communicated with the central command center.

"Negative!" came the response. "All we're picking up is you, the King and the detachment we dispatched. Are you sure something is down there?"

Luna turned at the same junction, then came screeching to a stop on the slick linoleum floor. Endymion was standing in the middle of the corridor, looking for his quarry. Behind him, Luna searched as well. There was no sign of him.

"Either he's standing still and hoping his light refraction suit will hide him," Endymion said just loud enough for Luna to hear, "or he ducked into one of these rooms."

"But these are just storage units," Luna replied. "Offices. Nobody would be in them at this time of the evening." The cat sniffed the air again. "I don't get a whiff of him now. It's unlikely that he's hiding in the corridor." By now the detachment of guards had joined them.

"Take three men and block off the junction of this corridor," Endymion told them. "The rest block the access junction at the other end." As the guards moved to obey, Serenity passed them and approached.

"Your Majesty, this is not a safe place for you to be," clucked Luna.

"I'll be all right," Serenity replied. "And stop calling me Your Majesty. Endymion, what's happening?"

"Computer," Endymion said aloud. "List the last time any of the rooms in this corridor were accessed through the corridor door."

"We've an intruder, Your Majesty," Luna informed her. "Someone using a light refraction suit to render himself invisible."

"Room 2H6 was accessed at 2056 hours," reported the computer. It was now 2059.

"That's where he went," Endymion declared, swiftly moving for the room. Pressing a stud on the wall that read his fingerprint and biometric aura, Endymion overrode the lock on the door and entered. "Lights!"

Inside the office, they found a hole in the wall of the room. The hole accessed the conduit through which the room's electrical and cybernet technology connected. Cautiously Endymion peered up into the conduit and then down. Moments later he pulled back into the room.

"I'm getting a whiff of ozone from that conduit," Endymion said out loud. "Computer, relay to central security. Lock down level 10 and converge a security team. And I want stills of everyone who accessed this room in the last month."

"Acknowledged," replied the computer.

"Endymion?" Serenity asked.

"Our burglar had this hole ready as an escape path," Endymion told her. "This wall has been like this for a while. And that conduit leads up to the Palace Environmental Control Computer. I smelled ozone in the conduit, so he probably used a magnetic hover disk to levitate up there."

"Gracious, does he mean to sabotage the Environmental Control Computer?" Luna gasped.

"I doubt it," Endymion shook his head. "He's have gone there first if that was his target. No, he was after something in my computer room."

"What?" Serenity asked.

"Let's catch him and find out," her husband replied. He headed into the corridor, his light gray cape swirling behind him.

* * *

In Hotaru's infirmary room, Usa sat by the teen's bedside and tried not to drift off to sleep. Hotaru was already asleep. She was done in after a long day of talking with her best friend. Usa was just about talked out as well. She didn't know what they would find to chat about tomorrow.

But they'd find something.

Just then, her senshi communicator beeped. Usa engaged it and found it was a Level 4 security alert for the palace. That brought the Princess to full consciousness. Engaging the call feature of the communicator, she contacted Diana.

"Diana, what's up?" Usa asked.

"According to Mother," Diana replied with her usual low, feline, slightly accented tone of voice, "an intruder was stopped from breaking into the King's computer room."

"They get him?"

"We are attempting to locate and detain him now, My Lady." As she listened to Diana, Usa noticed Ami standing at the door.

"Thanks for the lowdown, Diana," Usa said and she closed the communicator.

"Perhaps Senshi intervention might be warranted," Ami told her neutrally.

For a moment, Usa looked like she was going to transform. Then she glanced back at Hotaru and a pained expression grew on her face.

"An attempt of this nature might be a signal of a deeper and more sinister plot against the Monarchy," Ami said.

"Maybe," Usa offered lamely. "But what about Hotaru?"

"Hotaru is making excellent progress and is in no present danger," Ami advised her. "And this facility excels at patient welfare. I've seen to that myself."

"And I'm sure you're right," Usa wavered. "It's just . . ." And she trailed off, glancing at Hotaru again.

"Ultimately you must make your own decisions," Ami nodded. She seemed slightly disappointed, but tried not to show it. The doctor summoned her henshin stick as she walked off.

"You could have gone, you know," Hotaru said weakly. Usa glanced back at her bedridden friend. "I'll be all right. I promise."

"I believe you. It's just," and the Princess swallowed. "I'm just - - it seems so disloyal to leave you alone in this bed."

"That's silly," Hotaru smiled. "I don't expect you to sit here until I'm well again."

"Yeah, I know," and Usa gave a shrill chuckle. "It's just . . ."

"Go," Hotaru assured her. "Do your duty. I'll be waiting for you to get back." She smirked. "It'll give us all sorts of new things to talk about."

"OK," Usa nodded. She grasped Hotaru's hand and squeezed it. "Maybe if I'm gone, Yutaka can have a few minutes with you alone."

"I'd like that," Hotaru nodded. Then she grew serious. "Be careful, Usa." The Princess eased to the door, looking at Hotaru the entire time. Finally a surge of character strength came and she pushed herself out the door.

* * *

Ves was on her third rum and cola and growing more depressed with every sip. The music was nice and the club had energy. But nobody she'd seen had interested her. There were a couple of guys who would have made a nice one night stand. Ves didn't bite, though. She wondered about that for a moment and decided that she was looking for something more.

She took another draw on her drink. Then her Senshi Communicator buzzed.

"Merda," the teen muttered to herself, then popped the face of the communicator open. It was showing a Level 4 security alert at the palace. Quickly sobering, she pressed the call button and got Juno on the line. "I just got the alert. What's up?"

"Intruder in the palace," Juno replied.

"Threaten anyone?"

"No. Word is he tried to break into the King's computer room. We're searching for him now." Juno grinned. "Well, Pallas and I are with the Princess. Cere is still off the grounds with 'you know who'."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Ves said.

She closed the communicator and bolted for the door, pushing rudely through the throngs of people dancing. Several people threw angry accusations, but Ves paid no attention. She was needed, by her Princess and by her family. And that was all that mattered at the moment.

Barreling up to the door at top speed, Ves dodged with cat-like grace a woman with too much alcohol who had stumbled into her path. But she wasn't able to dodge the man entering the club. Their bodies impacted. Ves stumbled backwards two steps, then lost her footing and fell down. The man was staggered, but managed to keep his feet.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, DAMN IT!" roared the fallen Amazon. She began to get to her feet, oblivious to the crowd's stares.

It was only after she got to her feet that Ves got a look at the man she'd run into. He was in his early forties, with a mature dignity to his features. She could see that he was South American, with the deep caramel skin and thick black hair natural to the equatorial region - - Northern Brasilia, possibly Colombia, Ecuador or Panama. He was dressed casually, but with style. And the body his clothes were draped on was lean and athletic.

"My apologies," he said, smiling at her warmly. Then his expression shifted slightly. It was still friendly, but gone was the distance of formality. He was interested in her, intrigued by her face and her form and the fleeting sensation of her body pressed against his that was rapidly fading into memory. "Are you injured?"

It took a second for the question to register. "Nah," Ves grunted. She gazed at him for a moment more, uncertain what to do next. Then her rational mind kicked back into control. "Nah, I'm OK. Out of the way. I'm in a hurry."

"You're leaving already?" he asked and it was a line. That was obvious. But something in his eyes indicated feelings behind the line that made it not quite a line. "But I only just arrived. You can't be that cruel!"

"Look, I got to go!" Ves declared firmly. Attraction or not, he was in the way of her living up to her vows of loyalty and she'd bulldoze him if she had to in order to keep those vows.

She turned and was through the door in a shot.

"Wait!" he called after her. Frustrated at her body for actually halting, Ves turned and glared at him. "I'll be here at this time tomorrow. Join me?"

Ves scowled at him.

"Please?" and he smiled mischievously.

"If I'm not busy," Ves replied, allowing herself the merest hint of a return smile.

"Can't wait," he smirked.

Ves turned away from him and headed off into the evening. She realized that she was smiling.

"He was kind of hot," Ves said to herself. Then she transformed. "Fauna Assimilation, Peregrine Falcon!" Changing into the fastest bird on Earth, Ves flew into the night, headed for the palace.

* * *

Sailor Moon opened the door to a residence quarters in the palace. Normally pass codes were available only for King Endymion, Queen Serenity or Security Chief Nakamura to allow entry into a private dwelling. Being someone often at odds with the word "no", Usa had hacked into the system and set herself up with a pass code as well, though this was the first time she'd ever had a reason to use it. Once she'd determined that the dwelling was empty, she waved Sailor Pallas in.

"How long are we going to do this?" Sailor Juno asked as Pallas closed her eyes and mentally scanned the room.

"Until we find something or until the sweep is called off," Sailor Moon replied. "Somebody breaking into the palace is a pretty big deal, considering all of the security measures Pop has in place."

"Not disputing that," Juno persisted. "I just don't feel right about barging into someone's quarters without permission - - or a warrant."

"Well, this is an emergency," Sailor Moon argued. "Finding this intruder is a matter of public safety. Besides, it's a monarchy and being part of the monarchy, I don't really need a warrant."

"I wonder if General Almonte had that same rationalization when he was ruling Colombia," Juno wondered. Sailor Moon turned to her.

"That is completely different from what we're doing here," Sailor Moon said crossly. "From what I read, Almonte was searching for dissidents and political enemies. We're looking for someone who might be a threat to my parents or to the country itself."

"And Almonte considered my mother a threat to the country," Juno answered back calmly. "You can rationalize it any way you want, Princess, but abuse of power is abuse of power. And when the ruling class finds it easy to violate the rights of the ruled, that's when the trouble can begin."

"Um," Pallas interjected timidly. The two senshi turned to her. "Pallas doesn't sense anyone besides the people who live here."

"OK, Pallas," Sailor Moon said softly. "On to the next one."

Pallas obeyed. Juno gave her Princess a frustrated look, but didn't say anything. Pallas, however, buzzed past the next dwelling and over to a balcony door at the end of the corridor. The others looked and saw a falcon changing into Sailor Vesta. The computer locks recognized her and opened the door. Pallas ran up and hugged the senshi.

"Pallas is glad you're back, Vesta!" Pallas piped up.

"Good to see you again, too," Vesta said gently, indulging the childish show of affection. She approached the others. "What's the status?"

"Still haven't found him," Sailor Moon informed her. "If we go back down to Pop's computer room, do you think you could pick up his scent so we can sweep the floors that way? So we don't have to intrude on private quarters unnecessarily?" And she glanced at Juno momentarily.

"Let's do it," nodded Vesta. The four senshi headed back to the computer room. "Ceres isn't here yet?"

"She said she's on her way," Juno sighed. "Maybe she has 'other things' to finish first."

"'Other things'," Pallas repeated and giggled. Everyone else in the group could tell why she giggled.

* * *

"He must have made his exit here," Endymion declared, standing at a window.

The King, along with Serenity and the four Elder Senshi, were assembled in the Environmental Control Computer mainframe on the top floor of the palace. He stood next to an open window overlooking the east side of the city. Tokyo Bay was in the distance. Luna paced around the room, sniffing at every corner.

"Or maybe that's what he wants you to think," Sailor Venus said, posing as if she had made a brilliant deduction.

"Clearly that's the exit point," Mercury declared flatly. "There are no other points of egress in the room and it's been demonstrated by both my sensor sweep and Luna's olfactory sweep that our intruder is no longer in the room, nor could he have possibly doubled back."

"Man, you are no fun," huffed Venus.

"Got to have some guts to try to burglarize the palace itself, let alone Endymion's computer room," Jupiter remarked. "What do you suppose he was after?"

"Assuming it was a 'he'," Endymion replied. "Let's not prematurely limit our search. It has to be the computer itself or some component of it. I haven't acquired any recent data or program that would be unique. Unless it would be some sort of historical data I have stored. That sort of thing is usually free for all to access once the computer's security protocols are met."

"Maybe someone wasn't trying to steal something from the computer," Mars suggested. "Maybe the intruder was trying to plant something."

"An external plug-in device that could download a virus or override trojan?" Mercury asked, her attention riveted now on Mars. "I suppose that's possible. Since Endymion's computer has the most impenetrable virus firewall known, a cyber-attack would have to be incredibly sophisticated to work."

"And I have an entire section of the hard drive dedicated to constant virus scans," Endymion added. "Any hack would have to come externally."

"Then what did he want?" Jupiter asked. Endymion scowled.

"I'm more concerned with how he got in," the King mused. "An attack on my computer system is one thing. That can be replaced. But that computer room could have just as easily been the Royal Chambers or any one of your quarters. And that's too close for my tastes."

The King's com-link sounded and he engaged it.

"Pop, we've finished the sweep of the palace," Sailor Moon reported. "Neither Vesta nor Pallas can pick up anything and every other device we've got shows clear."

"Thank you, Honey," Endymion broadcast back. "Go ahead and stand down from alert status. I'm going to tell Palace Security to maintain a Level 2 alert for now."

"Gotcha, Pop. If you want me, I'm going to be in your computer room giving it a final look."

"OK. But don't fiddle with my playlist while you're in there," grinned the King.

"Yesssssss, Poppppppp!" Sailor Moon sighed back. That brought a smile to everyone's face.

"I'll go back down to the Shrine and see if I can divine something," Mars said as she exited.

"You know," Venus began.

"Uh oh," smirked Jupiter.

"Quiet, you," Venus rumbled. "This reminds me of a movie I was in once."

"Oh!" Serenity perked up. "The one where the master thief predicted to the police that he was going to steal a valuable gem at midnight and they thought they stopped him, only they found out afterward that he'd already stolen it the previous night and used the prediction as a distraction to get away?"

"Man, you HAVE seen all of my movies!" Venus marveled. "Yeah, so what if this was all just an elaborate trick to make us think we stopped him before he got a chance to do whatever it was he was going to do? But he's already done it?"

Jupiter began shaking her head in amusement. Then she noticed the sober expression on Mercury's face.

"Merc?" Jupiter asked.

"I hadn't considered that," Mercury frowned. "Venus may be on to something."

Venus stuck her tongue out at Jupiter in triumph.

Continued in Chapter 3


	3. Francisco Almanzar

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 3: "Francisco Almanzar"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

In the quarters of the four Amazons, three of the four sat and wondered and worried. The sweep of the palace concluded, they had been released to their normal lives while the King and Queen discussed the implications of the palace break-in with the Elder Senshi and the cats. Cere had still not returned.

"Maybe she got caught in traffic," Jun offered.

"She got caught up with that skinny artist, that's what she got caught up with," Ves scowled.

"Palla-Palla has tried calling her with her head, but Cere-Cere must be too far away to hear her," Palla-Palla offered up. "Palla-Palla is sure she would have known if Cere-Cere was hurt or in trouble."

"Which means she's not hurt and she's not in trouble," Ves grumbled. "She blew us off."

"Ves," Jun sighed.

"Don't make excuses for her!" Ves snapped. "She blew . . ."

"What did I blow?" Cere asked, walking into the quarters she shared with her three adoptive sisters. "Sorry I'm late. Hiroki and I were in Setagawa visiting some fellow artists friends of his."

"Well, fortunately we didn't need you," Jun sighed. "There's got to be a better way to respond to emergencies."

"I got here as fast as I could," Cere persisted.

"Well maybe you need to decide where your loyalties are!" Ves spat out, her jaw jutting out angrily as she glared at Cere.

"What, I have to choose between the palace and Hiroki?" Cere goggled angrily.

"If it comes to it," Ves wouldn't back down. "What if the Princess needed you? What if WE needed you?"

"You were out on the town, too!" Cere roared.

"And I busted my tail getting back here," Ves shot back, "in record time!"

"Well some of us can't turn into a bird and fly back! And some of us have a life!"

"Ves, back off," Jun warned. "You don't have any call questioning Cere's loyalty."

"Then we've got different definitions of the word," Ves growled. "Where I come from, you don't run out on your crew."

"This is just because you don't like Hiroki!" Cere fumed. "Well I am going to see Hiroki any time I choose to! And I can do it without it affecting my duties as a Senshi! And don't force me to choose between them, Ves! You might not like the choice I make!"

Ves was about to respond, but the fearful whimper from Palla-Palla stopped her. They all looked at their fourth sister and saw the tears bubbling in her eyes and the look of mortal terror in her expression. Immediately they all felt the line that they had crossed.

"Sorry for upsetting you, Palla-Palla," Cere said hoarsely.

"Cere-Cere isn't going to leave, is she?" Palla-Palla asked.

"Not unless someone forces the issue," Cere replied.

"Ves-Ves?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry for upsetting you, too," Ves said with reserve. "But sometimes life makes you choose between two things you want." She glanced at Cere. "Day's going to come. Don't think it won't." She turned and headed for her room. "I'm sacking out." And she disappeared inside.

"Hypocrite," huffed Cere.

"To be fair, you have to be closer to the palace," Jun said. "If you're going to be in an outer prefecture, borrow an air car. It's not fair to leave us hanging like that. We've got responsibilities."

"I know," Cere sighed. "I'll - - work something out with Hiroki."

* * *

The door to the computer room hissed open. Endymion turned to look at who was entering. Only himself, Serenity, the Elder Senshi and his daughter Usa had access to the room. At least that was what he believed before the break-in. Now he wasn't so sure. This time, to his relief, he found his wife, holding their infant daughter Mamoko. Makoto was behind her.

Then he saw the expression on Serenity's face.

"I'm not puttering," he said, trying to head off her ire. "I'm investigating the break-in."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Serenity sighed.

"Yes you were," Makoto grinned.

"Hush," Serenity hissed. "Have you found out anything?"

"Ami and I were going over the security cameras for the area," Endymion said as he pressed studs on his control panel. Makoto nodded to Ami, who sat in a corner studying holographic images from the computer. "Only one person has gone in or out of that office quarters in the past week."

"Then you've got your man?" Makoto asked.

"It's the man who is assigned to the office," Ami huffed in frustration. "Yosuke Kiroshika, a maintenance engineering planner on the palace staff. He's been employed with the palace for twelve years and has nothing to indicate any motive or ability to attempt to break in to the computer room. And there's no record of him anywhere near the computer room."

"Security talk to him?" Makoto asked.

"At the moment he's missing," Ami told her.

"Well, there you go. Sounds like an admission of guilt to me."

"Mako-Chan, we can't assume things like that," Serenity cautioned her friend. "He may have a very good reason for being gone."

"I agree, Makoto," Ami said. "While it bears further inquiry, there are too many other inconsistencies in this matter to positively implicate Kiroshika-San."

"So do I," said another Ami, entering the room and lingering by the door. "It's quite possible that he's the victim of an elaborate hoax."

"What?" sputtered Makoto in shock. She stared at the Ami by the door, and then at the Ami seated on the other side of the room. That Ami looked startled as well, though her mind quickly went to work trying to solve the mystery. Endymion was equally amazed and began to rise from his chair defensively.

"Mina-Chan, why are you dressed up to look like Ami-Chan?" Serenity asked impatiently. Now it was everybody's turn to look at the Queen in amazement.

"How did you know?" gasped the Ami by the door. She brought up a device in her hand and pressed a button. There was an electronic ripple through her image and Ami was suddenly Minako. "What did you do, cheat and sense my Heart Crystal or something?"

"Holographic image disguise! Why didn't I think of it?" Ami exclaimed critically.

"Because you're not as devious as I am," Minako smirked.

"So our intruder may have been masquerading as Kiroshika-San in order to set up that escape route?" Endymion continued the line of thought.

"It's either that or we've got a mole," Minako shrugged. "It's probably how he got into the palace to begin with." She tossed the device into the air and caught it. "These are handy little toys. Pricey and hard to get unless you know the right people. Of course, I work in show business, which is practically like being in the Yakuza. So I know the right people."

"So is there any way to scan for holographic imaging in those recordings?" Makoto asked.

"No," Endymion responded. "But now I have one more thing to add to the gate security scans. And we can scan the palace staff to find out if our intruder is still in the palace under a cloak of holographic secrecy."

"Um, Endymion," Serenity pondered out loud, "if that man was masquerading as Kiroshika-San - - then what happened to Kiroshika-San?"

No one answered for a moment. "That's a good question," Minako said finally. She wasn't smiling.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Usa asked nervously.

Hotaru was sitting up in bed with some difficulty. Her friend had tried unsuccessfully to dissuade her from attempting it. Now she was trying to dissuade her from trying to get out of bed.

"I want to try, Usa," Hotaru said resolutely. "I'm tired of being in this bed." She looked down for a moment, embarrassed by the thought. "And I'm afraid if I don't get out of this bed, I'll be here forever."

"If you get out of that bed and collapse, you could be there forever," the pink Princess warned. Seeing her words were having no effect, Usa stood up next to the bed. "Fine, be stubborn. At least lean on me."

"I want to do it myself, Usa!" Hotaru huffed.

"Don't push yourself! You try to do too much and you'll hurt yourself again!" She extended her arms to Hotaru. "Use me as a brace. You can pull yourself to your feet by holding onto me. And I'll be there to catch you if you can't do it."

Hotaru sighed with frustration. "Oh, all right. But let me try first. Don't help me unless I need it."

"Promise," Usa replied.

Reaching out, Hotaru grasped her friend's forearms. Usa could feel how weak the grip was. But she didn't say anything. This was important to Hotaru, so Usa prayed it would work. Pulling against her friend, Hotaru managed to swing her legs out and over the side of the bed. Her hospital gown rode up her thighs revealingly.

"Too bad I can't get a shot of this," Usa chuckled. "Yutaka would love it." Predictably, Hotaru turned her face away and pressed her lips together trying to smother her embarrassment.

"Who says he hasn't already seen it," the girl mumbled. But Usa heard it and suppressed a laugh.

Pulling against Usa as much as pushing off with her legs, Hotaru struggled to stand. Usa wanted to help her, but held back. Hotaru's thighs were visibly shaking. Doggedly the girl fought on. After what seemed like an eternity, she stood on her own two feet. Though she was holding on to Usa to keep from teetering over, she was standing.

"How do you feel?" Usa probed.

"Winded," Hotaru wheezed. "It's OK. Just let me stand here for a little while longer. I was going to try to take a few steps, but I guess that's out."

Hotaru was still being scanned by the bed's medical computer. Usa glanced over at it and noticed the elevated heart rate.

"Maybe I better get back in bed, Usa," Hotaru mumbled vacantly. "I'm feeling a little light-headed."

Quickly the Princess eased her friend back to the bed. At her insistence, she swung Hotaru's legs back up. Hotaru eased down onto the bed, her head sinking into the pillow. She uttered a sigh of exhaustion.

"That was a workout," panted the waif.

"You didn't do too much, did you?" Usa inquired furtively.

"Swing my vitals display around," Hotaru requested. Usa moved the holographic display so Hotaru could see it. "I don't think I'm in any danger." She expelled a tired breath. "Oh, Usa, I really did it this time. I wonder if I'm ever going to get well."

"You'll get well if I have to use the Moon Tier to make it happen," Usa told her. Hotaru glanced at her in surprise and foreboding. "I mean it."

"Yeah, you probably do," Hotaru gave her an ironic look. "I guess I don't have any choice now."

* * *

Night segued into morning and news of the attempted break-in at the palace was on the morning streams. And that set Crystal Tokyo to buzzing.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to release that news story into the streams?" Rei asked. She was in her priest robes walking down the corridor with Luna. The pair were headed for Serenity's office.

"Why not?" the black cat inquired.

"Because it's nobody else's business," the priest responded.

"Perhaps," Luna conceded. "But news such as this would have gotten out eventually. Humans can't resist talking about such things. One of the security personnel would have told his family and they would have spread it to their acquaintances. Soon the entire country would have heard. This way the palace can control what the public hears and how they hear it, quashing misinformation and idle rumors and limiting the spread of the story." She glanced up at Rei. "Since it's no longer news, fewer people will have the urge to spread the story."

"But doesn't that fuel speculation?"

"It's not a perfect solution because it isn't a perfect world. It's just the best solution."

The two entered the room. Makoto and Minako were there with Serenity, who was feeding little Mamoko.

"I'm amazed," Rei commented wryly. "You actually left some formula for Mamoko."

"Don't listen to her, Mamoko-Chan," Serenity purred to the infant in her arms. "She's just a bitter and jealous old woman." Rei smirked.

"Any luck with the fire reading?" Minako asked.

"Nope," the priest sighed. "And no dreams or premonitions, either. Apparently the gods don't care about this problem. Any news on your end?"

"Yes, actually," Minako smirked in triumph, which she usually did when she knew something no one else did. "Endymion's spy eyes came up with a shot of Yosuke Kiroshika at the Magnetic Glider Train station about four days ago. Computer check of the passenger records shows him on a Glider Train to Hokkaido."

"So our thief buys Kiroshika a ticket to Hokkaido to get him out of the way, then takes his place in the palace," Rei said, following the logic.

"Probably pretended Kiroshika had won a contest or something," Minako nodded. "Usa dug a little further while she was baby-sitting Hotaru and found the ticket was purchased by a Golden Sunshine Promotions. So Artemis hacked them and found they're a dummy company fronting for somebody named Francisco Almanzar."

"A foreigner?" Rei gaped. "Does anybody know anything about him?"

"Artemis is still digging," Minako scowled. "But he was able to trace some of the money to a bank in the European Union."

"This is becoming quite the international puzzle," Luna commented. "Where is His Majesty now?"

"Working with palace security to make sure there aren't any other weak spots in our defensive procedures," sighed Serenity. "You know how important it is that he protect everyone."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Makoto said. "I suppose you want to just meet with the thief and accommodate him so everything is solved peacefully."

"Within reason," Serenity shrugged.

"And no one still knows what he was trying to steal?" Rei asked. Everyone shook their heads. "That makes accommodating him a risky move, Serenity. I know you want peace, but capitulation isn't always the means to get it."

"Negotiation, Rei, not capitulation," Serenity said confidently as she removed the bottle from Mamoko's mouth and hoisted her up onto her shoulder. "There's a difference."

* * *

Sitting on one of the palace balconies, Ves absently looked out over the sprawling city of Crystal Tokyo without really seeing it. The girl was unaware that she had been sitting like that for over an hour. Restlessness, however, finally overcame the teen and she pushed up out of her chair, turned and headed back inside.

And ran right into Palla-Palla, who had been standing in front of the door.

"Jeez!" gasped Ves, jumping back defensively. "Man, I must have been out of it if I let someone sneak up on me. What are you doing there, anyway?"

"Ves-Ves is confused. Palla-Palla can tell," Palla-Palla declared.

"Wonder how," muttered Ves.

"Palla-Palla didn't peek! Honest!" protested the blue-haired teen. "Palla-Palla thinks Ves-Ves should go meet the man in the nightclub if Ves-Ves wants to so bad."

"Nah, you didn't peek," scowled Ves.

"Well," whimpered Palla-Palla, "maybe just a little. Palla-Palla is sorry!" She shifted on her feet. "But why doesn't Ves-Ves want to meet the man in the club if she thinks she likes him?"

"With the palace on alert?"

"It'll be OK. The King and the Queen didn't say you couldn't."

"After the way I lit into Cere?" Ves asked. "Besides, you don't run out on your team if there's trouble."

"Cere-Cere will understand," Palla-Palla said earnestly. "But it would be nice if Ves-Ves said she was sorry first."

"You know me better than that," Ves told her. "Anyway, it don't matter what I want. Princess might need me, so I got to stick."

"But Ves-Ves," Palla-Palla said, her manner almost dream-like, "you like him. And he likes you. And you'll fall in love and get married! And then you'll have lots of little babies and Palla-Palla will get to be their Auntie!"

"Hey, whoa!" gasped Ves. "Nobody said nothing about getting married and having kids! Where did that come from?"

The teen thought. "Palla-Palla doesn't know. But she thinks it's true. Go see him, Ves-Ves. Palla-Palla likes it when you smile." She gave Ves a wide grin. "Palla-Palla will even cover for you!"

"Yeah, I've seen how that turns out," grunted Ves. She looked away, scanning the city again. "I suppose if I don't, he'll think I blew him off and I'll never see him again. And if something does go down, I can get back here in no time." She expelled a sigh.

"Even Cere-Cere would say yes," and Palla-Palla smirked, "after she scolded you first."

Ves pondered for a few seconds, then reached a decision.

"Know where Cere is?" Ves asked.

"In the garden," Palla-Palla smirked conspiratorially.

"Just got time to change." She bent down and grasped her sister by the shoulders. "Now if ANYTHING goes down, you call me on the Senshi Communicator first thing. You got me?"

"Palla-Palla will do just what you say," she nodded. "Oh, and Ves-Ves - - be sure to name one of your babies after me."

"Whatever," Ves sighed and headed for their quarters.

Continued in Chapter 4


	4. The Man From Colombia

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 4: "The Man From Colombia"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

It was just like the previous night. The club was loud, seeming to vibrate to the music and the movement. People were alive with the beat, with each other, and for some with the liquid they had previously downed. A device in the ceiling caught her eye. It was a brainwave emitter that projected the beat of the music into a person's mind. No wonder she felt like the music was as much inside of her as all around her. Between that and the lights, Ves's doubts and recriminations from the past day began to fall away.

The girl turned heads as she made her way to the bar. Clad in a slinky crimson dress that hugged her young form and fell away high on the thigh and low around the shoulders, with flared black ankle boots that she sneered at when Cere pointed them out and then bought secretly, Ves looked anything but the street thief she had been in her younger days. A couple of young men approached her, but a look sent them away.

There was only one person she was here for.

Lingering at the bar, her favorite rum and cola in her glass, Ves considered that fact for a moment. Her pointed criticism of Cere had come from the heart. She meant every word about sacrificing personal enjoyment for the sake of the gang - - team. Yet here she was, out on the town, drawn back to the club in hopes of seeing again a man she met once and fleeting.

"I must be nuts," Ves murmured and took a sip of the drink.

"I wouldn't say so," came a voice from behind. Ves whirled defensively and found him standing behind her. "I'm glad you came. I wasn't certain you would."

"Neither was I," Ves said, relaxing.

"So why did you?"

"I was curious," Ves replied. "I guess I wanted to find out why a guy who's old enough to be my dad thought he could make time with me."

The man smirked. "Are you THAT young?" he asked.

"Don't tell the bartender," she responded slyly.

"What he doesn't have to know won't hurt him. I'm Rodrigo Fernandez." He waited patiently for her response. If he knew she was a senshi, he wasn't letting on.

"Ves," she said. "Vanessa. My friends call me Ves."

"Hopefully I may call you Ves, too, one day. Clearly you're not from Japan." He looked her over. "Brasilia?"

"Good guess. You? The name is Spanish, so I figure the west side of the continent." He nodded. "So what are you doing in Japan?"

"Business interests brought me here," Rodrigo said calmly. "You?"

"I've," she mentally edited, "got a job here."

"Do you miss Brasilia?"

"A few things. Japan's all right."

The music shifted. It caught Rodrigo's attention.

"Would you care to dance, Vanessa?" he asked. His attention was locked on her, as if they were the only two people in the club.

"Sure you can keep up with me?" she jabbed. He extended a hand.

"The question is," he smiled, "can you keep up with me?"

Confidence seemed to radiate from him. Despite his age, this man clearly believed he could seduce her. Rather than be put off by it, Ves was intrigued.

"Guess we'll have to find out," she said, her eyes locked with his as she took his offered hand. Together they eased into the flow of the music.

* * *

Jun was in the quarters she shared with the other Amazons. It had been a long day. The palace was tense because of the break-in. The quarters were tense because of the ill-will between Ves and Cere. Cere had spent most of the afternoon in the garden and then most of the evening first visiting Hotaru in the infirmary and then in the palace botanical research lab that she had set up with the assistance of Ami and Rei.

Ves had slipped out of the palace and headed out on the town. Jun had given her a verbal reprimand, which Ves had ignored. Then Jun had to listen to Palla-Palla's rambling excuse as to why it was all right. Finally she started on her homework just out of self-defense.

"Babies?" Jun muttered as the conversation intruded on her thought process for the fourth time. "I didn't know it was THAT serious."

Her work station signaled an incoming communication. Jun put her homework on minimal and went to answer the message. Then she felt a presence next to her.

"Nosy much?" Jun asked, glancing at Palla-Palla peering over her shoulder.

"Palla-Palla just wants to see," the girl huffed. "Why doesn't Jun-Jun want to share?"

"Because it's PRIVATE," she responded indignantly. "Although I don't know just how much of anything is private around here."

"Palla-Palla wouldn't have peeked!"

"What does everybody tell you about lying?" Jun admonished her. Palla-Palla responded with a protruding lower lip. "Shoo."

As Palla-Palla reluctantly returned to her doll corner, Jun called up the message. It was a video message from Chief Minister Gomez of Colombia. Though the two corresponded frequently, since Jun was the daughter of the Chief Minister's dead wife, the communique was still unexpected. Placing an ear jack in her ear, Jun connected with the call.

"Hello again, Junelle," Gomez began, using Jun's birth name. Gomez was still broad and sturdy for a man his age, but Jun noticed his face seemed even more tired and lined. "Forgive me for not communicating sooner, but sometimes affairs of state overtake me."

"I understand," Jun replied kindly.

He grew serious. "Forgive me also for this, but my message is professional in this case rather than personal. It has come to our attention that there may be a man in Crystal Tokyo at this moment. He is wanted by the Colombian government because he allied himself twenty years ago with General Almonte's regime. We are arranging a visit with your government to allow one of our security operatives to come to Japan and investigate this."

"Really?" Jun said with surprise. "It's that serious?"

"If we are correct in who we believe has surfaced in Japan, yes," Gomez told her. "Jaime Ruiz was a spy for General Almonte. He was very efficient, very cunning, and a master of disguise and infiltration. His actions caused the deaths of hundreds of rebels during the uprising. He has eluded us for all this time."

"Wow."

"I'm calling to tell you this to warn you," Gomez continued. "Given your position with the government of Japan, you may come up against this man. He is quite dangerous and should never be taken lightly."

"Thanks for the warning," Jun said, stunned and with respect. "Don't suppose you have a picture?"

"We have a computer sim," Gomez admitted, "based on the descriptions of a few surviving witnesses. Ruiz was careful to never be recorded or photographed."

"Then how do you know he's here?"

"Our operative, Senor Garcia, has been on the trail of Ruiz since the fall of Almonte's government. His trail has led to Japan. Garcia is confident that Ruiz is there."

"And if he isn't?"

Gomez sagged. "In a way, I hope he's not. It would mean you wouldn't have any contact with him."

"But if he's that important . . .?"

"Junelle," Gomez smiled, but it was a sad smile and a fearful one, "I lost many friends to Almonte and his band. Several were to Ruiz himself. Capturing him now would be - - revenge as much as anything. As I grow older, it is more important that I keep the living that are close to me alive rather than avenge the dead." He took a steadying breath. "But you have your duty and I have my responsibilities. If you do face him - - be careful."

Jun barely heard the affectionate farewell as she plucked the earpiece from her ear. Instead, she stared at the computer simulation composite of Jaime Ruiz. He didn't seem like a killer. He was kind of handsome.

Then, reaching over her shoulder, Palla-Palla touched the screen. Jun turned and looked at her.

"He did bad things once," Palla-Palla declared softly, a faraway look in her eyes.

"Is he here?" Jun asked. "In Japan?"

"Palla-Palla doesn't know," she responded, still looking at something in a different reality. "She's sorry, but she doesn't know."

* * *

Slowly the couple walked down the Promenade in the general direction of the Crystal Palace. Ves was tired, but her elation allowed her to ignore the fatigue. The night had been fun, more fun than she'd had in a long time. Maybe ever. She glanced over at Rodrigo. He seemed quite pleased to be in her company. That suddenly was important to her.

It had been a tremendous evening. They danced. They drank. They bounced from night spot to night spot, seeking new thrills. He'd made intimate overtures. She'd deflected them, because the moment wasn't right and because she still couldn't fully trust anyone that quickly just yet. It was the curse of her upbringing that made it difficult to trust anyone. But he'd rolled with it. Other men would have become petulant or demanding, maybe lost interest. Rodrigo took their eventual coupling as inevitable, so he could be patient with her. His ego mildly irritated her, but his confidence was mesmerizing.

"You know, you don't have to walk me home," Ves told him playfully. "I'm a big girl now."

"I have to know where you live," Rodrigo smiled at her. "How else will I know where to come home to when we are married?"

"I'll message you," Ves smirked.

"No, you will just steal my heart and leave," he sighed impishly. "It's what you're used to doing."

"What's that mean?" Ves bristled.

"I grew up on the streets as well, Vanessa," Rodrigo told her. "I recognize some of the signs."

"Yeah? Where?"

"Does it matter? Poverty is remarkably similar no matter where you are in the world," he said. Ves looked at him. There didn't seem to be the bitterness that she often felt about her youth on the streets of Sao Paulo. "And it teaches you things. Things like not easily trusting. You like me."

"I do, huh?" Ves grinned.

"You can't help it, really. But you don't trust me," he continued. "That's wise. You don't know that much about me other than what I've told you and what your instincts tell you. Don't feel bad. It's my mission to overcome those barriers, not your responsibility to not erect them." He reached up and stroked her cheek gently with his hand. "And the chase is half the fun, after all."

Ves felt herself weakening.

"Here. Let me give you my message address," Rodrigo said, producing a PDA from his jacket pocket. "Perhaps, if I've piqued your interest enough, you'll do me the honor of allowing me to entertain you for another night."

Ves brought up her PDA. Rodrigo touched his to hers and transferred the file.

"Do you have to leave?" Ves asked.

"Vanessa, I am yours as long as you can tolerate my presence," he beamed. "I thought it might be late for you, but if you can stay . . ."

"Maybe a little while longer. I do have to get back," she began, then cut herself off. "Eventually. And I don't want to keep you."

"My life is fluid," Rodrigo said. "It flows around my time with you and bends to accommodate."

He reached out for her hand. Ves gave it to him.

* * *

Next morning, King Endymion and Queen Serenity entered the Royal Receiving Room, with Luna trailing behind them. A squad of guards lined the room on either side and snapped to attention when the royal couple entered. Serenity emitted a frustrated sigh and turned to the black cat.

"MUST you make them do that?" Serenity asked with brittle civility.

"Formality and discipline never harmed a soul," the cat sniffed in response. "And it reminds CERTAIN PEOPLE of their station."

"Blah blah station," the queen mocked. She received a withering glare from Luna.

"Stop baiting Luna and sit down," Endymion said to her, unable to contain the smirk on his face.

"And must we use the thrones? It's sooooooo stuffy and pretentious!" Serenity complained.

"We've been over this," Endymion replied patiently. "We have an image to maintain, to the people and to the world."

"Image," huffed Serenity. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't Queen."

"Sometimes I wish you weren't Queen either," muttered Luna.

Endymion cut off further bickering. Serenity sat down next to him and adjusted the crown pinned in her blonde hair. Luna nodded to the guard at the door.

"Announcing Senor Theodore Almanza Garcia of the Free Country of Colombia," the man announced. He pressed a button and the automatic door slid back.

Garcia entered the room. He approached within fifteen feet of the King and Queen, then stopped and bowed formally. Endymion took the opportunity to take stock of the man. Colombia had forwarded his biography. Theodore Garcia had been a rebel fighter against General Almonte. After Almonte's fall, he'd battled Dark Moon invasion forces. When Colombia finally won its freedom, Garcia had volunteered to hunt down all of Almonte's faction that still were alive and had committed atrocities. According to Chief Minister Gomez, he had almost insisted.

The man standing before Endymion was clearly battle-hardened. He was six feet four with broad shoulders and a broad chest hewed by conflict. A scar ran up his right forearm from his wrist to his elbow. Shifting to his face, Endymion found a man of grim determination. His jaw was granite firm and adorned with a small growth of beard. His nose was flat and had been broken at least once. His hair was thick and black, slicked back from his forehead and plastered to his head. And his eyes were hard, saw everything and forgave little.

Endymion glanced at Serenity for her reaction. He saw his wife stare at Garcia with sympathy in her eyes and mouth. She seemed to sense his pain without knowing what tortured this man.

"King Endymion. Queen Serenity," Garcia spoke with a Spanish accent and clipped, precise words. "I present myself to you as an envoy of the Colombian Government. I am Theodore Garcia, Head Secretary and chief officer of the Ministry of Justice's Division of Criminal Apprehension."

"And are you apprehending someone?" Serenity asked gently.

"It is mine and my government's belief that a Colombian war criminal, Jaime Ruiz, is in your country," Garcia answered crisply and stiffly. "This man is wanted for murder and crimes against humanity. If he is here, he is also a potential threat to your population. I will find him and I will remove him from your midst."

"He sounds like a terribly misguided man," Serenity commented. "When you've caught him, what will you do with him?"

"Return him to Colombia, Your Majesty," Garcia replied. "From there, it is up to the Colombian courts to decide."

"Please, Serenity will do," Serenity frowned.

"Of course, I will at all times abide by the laws of your nation," Garcia continued. "It is not my wish to disrupt the lives of your country's people. Rather, it is my wish to protect them by removing this person from their lives."

"For that, we're grateful, Senor Garcia," Endymion nodded. "If there is any assistance we or the Civilian Defense and Protection Service can render you, please feel free to ask."

"Thank you, Your," and Garcia momentarily hesitated, unsure if Endymion disdained the formal title as well, "um, Majesty. With your permission, I'll begin my investigation as soon as I'm settled."

"That's fine," Endymion nodded.

"And I hope your visit is very," Serenity added, considering her words cautiously, "safe and peaceful. And that you can stop this man before he can hurt anyone else."

"My wish as well, Queen Serenity," Garcia replied. He bowed again, then backed to the door and left.

"You sensed something?" Endymion asked his wife. That made Luna stare curiously.

"Only that Senor Garcia is a very bitter and driven man," Serenity said sadly. "I don't know what could have caused such feelings within him."

"Given his history of involvement in war and strife, it's quite easy to imagine why he'd have such feelings," Luna noted. "No doubt he's lost many people he cared about over the course of his life. It's bound to affect him."

"Yes, of course," Serenity said. "I wish I could help him."

"Maybe apprehending this Ruiz fellow is more important at the moment," suggested Luna. "Once he's been neutralized as a threat, then you may save his soul."

"I'll contact Chief Nakamura and get CDP on the trail of this," Endymion said, rising from his throne. "If Ruiz is here, I want to know about it."

Continued in Chapter 5


	5. When Plans Begin To Blossom

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 5: "When Plans Begin To Blossom"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"What have I told you about getting out of bed?" Ami asked sternly.

Hotaru glanced up, saw the doctor standing in the doorway and realized she'd been caught. Her cheeks colored and her eyes sought the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mizuno-Sensei," the girl offered. "I just . . ."

"Yes?" Ami asked, peering at her with that dissecting way she had, like she knew what you were thinking but was going to wait for you to say it.

"I don't," Hotaru began shyly, "want to just lay here for too long. I want to get active again." Hotaru swallowed and looked down again, hoping she hadn't revealed too much.

"Hotaru," Ami smiled patiently, "you have an excellent prognosis for recovery. You don't need to worry about permanent disability. But recovery from such a large trauma takes time. Even with the neuro-stimulant therapy, you're going to need time to heal. Rushing the process will only harm you in the long run."

"Yes, I should know that," frowned the teen.

"There's an old saying," Ami said sympathetically. "Doctors make the worst patients. I think we can extend that to medical students, too." Ami eased her back into bed. "So, would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes, please," Hotaru nodded. "I'd like to get it finished quickly. Mama and Papa will be here soon for their visit. And I expect Usa will be here soon as well."

"I'm relieved you finally convinced her that she didn't have to spend every moment of the day by your bedside," Ami said as she programmed a breakfast order into a virtual display. "I understand loyalty and dedication, but frankly the girl was beginning to obsess."

"I was not," huffed Usa as she entered. "And you're beginning to sound like Mom, Aunt Ami."

Ami couldn't conceal a grin. "Since your nurse is here, Hotaru, I'll leave you two alone." She glanced at Usa. "No picking off of her plate, please." Usa wrinkled her nose at her mentor as a mechanized tray entered with Hotaru's breakfast. As the pink teen sat down, Ami withdrew.

"You look troubled," Hotaru observed. Usa stared at her for a moment, then glanced away. "Has something happened?"

The Princess emitted a sigh. "There's a guy from Colombia in Crystal Tokyo hunting for a war criminal. Says he's dangerous. Chief Minister Gomez told Jun the same thing."

"Do you suppose he was the one who tried to break into your father's computer room?" Hotaru asked.

"Yeah, I thought of that, too. It's possible. Pop and the CDP have the investigation right now. If the situation escalates, though, the Senshi might have to step in. I briefed everybody about it last night." The Princess paused. "Everyone but Ves. She was out late last night. I asked the others to bring her up to speed when she got back."

"I wonder if she met someone," Hotaru pondered.

"Don't know. Ves is known to keep late hours," Usa recalled. "I'm more concerned with this Colombian war criminal. If he is in Crystal Tokyo, I don't want to find out after something happens." Usa glanced at Hotaru suddenly. "Boy, who does THAT sound like?"

"Your dad," Hotaru giggled.

Usa grew serious. "Hotaru, I don't want to run out on you . . ."

"You want to get started on your own investigation into this war criminal," Hotaru said knowingly. "It's all right. Mama and Papa will be here soon."

"I'll stay with you until they get here," Usa nodded. "It's too bad this happened. I'm going to miss not having you there if trouble comes up. But we'll handle it! You get well."

"I will," Hotaru sighed patiently.

* * *

Late to bed, late to rise; that was Ves. So it was no surprise that she awoke late in the morning. Of the four, only Cere rose later than she did. It was a slight surprise that Cere had beaten her to wakefulness. Dressed in blue jogging shorts with yellow piping and a white tank top, Ves entered the room. Sleep was gone from her eyes, as was her habit. But she entered with some trepidation, because of what had occurred last night.

Surveying the room, she found Jun at her computer, scanning some news page. Cere was working on her homework with little relish, while Palla-Palla was in her corner watching Yumi-Chan's Toy Shop for what seemed like the thousandth time. It seemed like a normal morning, but Ves suspected otherwise.

"Ves," Jun said, still skimming the last of the item on her screen. "We need to talk."

"Look, I already know what you're going to say!" Ves snapped. "It ain't the same thing. I was within four minutes of the palace at all times. One buzz and I would have been there. I wasn't running out on anybody!"

They all looked quizzically at her. This threw Ves for a moment. Then Palla-Palla's eyes lit up.

"VES-VES HAS A BOYFRIEND!" she squealed.

"Jeez," sighed Ves.

"Well, how about that," Jun replied with a cocked eyebrow.

"Everything I said goes!" Ves declared. "You all need me, I'll be there."

"We know that," sighed Cere. She got up and walked over to Ves. "We all know you'll be there when we need you. You're allowed to have a social life, even if you don't think I am. And now that I know you're seeing someone, I'm happy for you. Maybe now you can be a little more tolerant of Hideki."

The muscles in Ves's jaw tightened.

"Palla-Palla thinks Ves-Ves is sorry, Cere-Cere," Palla-Palla said, inching up to them. "But Palla-Palla thinks Ves-Ves is too scared to say it."

"I ain't scared," mumbled Ves.

"Anyway," Cere continued, "the thing we had to talk about is a potential threat to Crystal Tokyo." Ves perked up.

"Usa briefed us last night while you were out," Jun added. "There may be a war criminal from Colombia loose in the city. We have to be ready in case we're needed to capture him."

"I'll be ready," Ves nodded.

"Not so fast, Ves," Cere admonished. "This guy is supposed to be a rough customer."

"So am I," Ves replied stonily.

"In spite of that, read the case history Chief Minister Gomez sent Jun. It'll help to know what you're dealing with."

"I will," Ves stated and Cere could tell she wasn't just saying it to get Cere off her back.

"OK," Jun smiled, turning her chair to them and crossing her legs on the seat. "Now tell us about this guy."

"I like him," Ves shrugged cryptically. The others waited, but Ves would say no more.

"He's forty?" Palla-Palla gasped. Ves did a slow burn.

"Palla-Palla, stop doing that," Jun admonished.

"Forty, huh?" Cere asked skeptically.

"It's not like he's ancient!" Ves snapped defensively. "He acts like a guy half his age. He's smart and cool. Oh man, and he's got a way about him that just makes you want to shiver!"

"Well I'm not going to deny that the age gap between you two could cause some problems," Cere began. She saw the ire in Ves begin to grow. "But it doesn't have to be a deal breaker, I suppose. They've worked before." She smirked. "Maybe he can even teach you how to behave like a human being." She sobered. "Just be careful, huh?"

"Yeah, I know. He's not just out for a quickie. But I got my eye open, just in case. You know me."

"I'll trust your judgment anyway," Cere said.

With that, the alert signal went off on each girl's Senshi Communicator. Ves was the first one with her henshin stick in her hand.

* * *

"Thanks for the lift, Helios," Sailor Moon said, patting Pegasus on the neck as she sat astride the equine and they circled the scene outside of the palace.

At the east gate to the Crystal Palace, a superconductor land vehicle of very ancient vintage was in the process of melting down. As was the case with such ancient vehicles, when the electromagnetic carriage on the underside grew unstable through age or damage, they began to throw off electric arcs at any conductive body within thirty feet of it. Fortunately, they also began throwing off repellent magnetic waves, shoving anything susceptible to magnetism away violently.

What had begun as a normal day at the Crystal Palace was now a scene of chaos. Safety drones hovered overhead. Palace guards and CDP officers tried to keep the public back, many of whom were queued up for Serenity's daily audience with the public. Those who hadn't panicked and ran were pressing in to see the show. In addition those safety officers were trying to find some way to stop the process before more damage could occur.

This was the scene that greeted the four Asteroid Senshi as they burst through the main gate of the palace.

"Damn! Look at that thing throw sparks!" gasped Vesta.

"I heard how dangerous these things could be, but I never believed it!" Ceres exclaimed.

"Yeah, they're pretty bad," Juno nodded, the seeming voice of experience due to her familiarity with superconductor processes in hover-bikes. "Whoever was driving this heap either couldn't afford to maintain it properly or didn't care."

Just then Pegasus flew down, circling the group with Sailor Moon astride him.

"Any injuries, Princess?" Juno asked.

"None reported. Maybe we've been very lucky," Sailor Moon called back.

"Maybe?" Ceres asked.

"Maybe it's nothing," Sailor Moon shook her head. "I'm going back up to keep an eye on things. You four keep a lid on things down here. If one of you think you can stop this, go ahead and try. But be careful and don't get too close to it." With that, Pegasus soared up into the sky.

At the gate, the four senshi looked over the situation.

"If we can somehow separate the power source from the superconductor coils, that heap will drop its field and we can get close to it," Juno told them. "Maybe the separation will even deplete the power source, if it's damaged."

"Ooh! Pallas will try!" squealed Sailor Pallas. "Beautiful Incantation!"

Pointing at the malfunctioning vehicle, Pallas knit her brow. Ceres and Juno could see that she was trying to use her telekinesis to pull the power crystal from its mooring inside the vehicle. Fortunately for her, the front of the vehicle's chassis had blown off, exposing the power block. As Pallas strained, the aqua-white crystal in her mind's grasp began to jiggle in its moorings.

"Keep going, Pallas!" Vesta cheered her own. "You can do it!"

"Man, I wish I could help," Juno sighed with frustration. "But introducing water into that would just make things worse."

"Yeah, and my plants couldn't get near that without being fried," Ceres added.

Pallas continued to struggle with the crystal. Two of the four couplings to the cables that transferred the power from the crystal to the coils were loose. But the other two stubbornly clung to the crystal.

"It's almost like that old heap doesn't want to let go," whispered Ceres.

"Pallas can't do it!" Pallas cried suddenly. "It's slipping!"

"I got you, Pallas!" Vesta exclaimed. "Fauna Combination - - Electric eel Tyrannosaur!"

Scampering back to get out of the way, Ceres and Juno watched Vesta grow into a full adult female Tyrannosaur. Towering forty feet into the air, Vesta moved toward the sparking wreck.

"VESTA, DON'T GET NEAR THAT THING!" bellowed Juno.

"It's all right!" the Tyrannosaur roared. "That electricity isn't going to bother me!"

Undaunted, Vesta approached the vehicle wreckage, entering the magnetic field perimeter. As she expected, the electric arcs from the car were absorbed by her electric eel traits. Raising one massive hind leg, the Tyrannosaur stomped down on the side of the car, crushing its already brittle chassis. The crystal seemed to wiggle with a little more freedom. Reaching down with her short but powerful forearms, Vesta grabbed for the crystal. Due to her poor eyesight in this form, it took several tries before she was able to grasp it.

But grasping it completed a circuit. The car exploded with a powerful pop. Vesta was thrown fifty feet, still in dinosaur form, and impacted with the ornamental fence around the palace.

"VESTA!" shrieked Pallas. She and the other Asteroids broke for their fallen sister, along with several palace guards. Gathered around her, everyone saw that Vesta, though shaken, was still conscious. Her form mutated back to Sailor Vesta and the girl extended her hand.

"I got the crystal," Vesta panted. In her hand was the power crystal, now inert without its power couplings.

"DON'T SCARE PALLAS LIKE THAT!" Pallas roared and slapped Vesta on the upper arm.

"OK, OK, I'm sorry," Vesta chuckled.

"We'll have one of the infirmary doctors look you over anyway," Ceres said.

"Yeah, I'm sure the Princess will insist," Juno added. She glanced up into the sky. "Hey, where did Sailor Moon go?"

* * *

A palace security guard walked down a particular corridor of the Crystal Palace. No one noticed him as they were all occupied with gaining one of the balconies and seeing what was going on by the east gate. No one paid attention, as he looked like he knew what he was doing.

"Guard?" a woman called out. He turned to her. She approached him fearfully. "What's going on outside?"

"Just an accident with a hovercar, ma'am," he reassured her. "Apparently the superconductive coil malfunctioned and the power crystal began arcing energy."

"Then we're not in any danger?"

"No, ma'am," the guard smiled. "Just keep your distance from it until emergency crews can contain the power crystal."

"Oh, what a load off of my mind! I was scared witless. I still have memories of that awful Dark Moon attack." The woman looked at the guard more closely. "I don't remember seeing you around the palace."

"I'm usually in Environmental Control," he responded with easy assurance.

"Odd. You're not from Japan, are you?" the woman commented. "Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

"My family was originally from South America," the guard explained with good humor. "We've lived in Crystal Tokyo for three generations. It was an honor for King Endymion to accept me into the Crystal Palace guard force." He grinned self-consciously. "My mother is very proud."

"I'm sure," the woman nodded. "Well, thank you again for reassuring me."

The woman walked off and the guard continued on to his destination. Pausing at the door to King Endymion's computer room, the guard looked right and left. Then he placed a device on the identification pad next to the door.

"You are not listed in the Crystal Palace database," announced the Environmental Control Computer. "Do not move. Security has been . . ."

Abruptly it trailed off. Then the panel seemed to reset.

"Override accepted," the computer control announced. "Access granted."

The door slid open. Snatching the device from the identification pad, the guard swiftly entered. He went straight to the control keyboard of the gigantic computer the room housed. There he stopped.

"Schematic analysis," the guard told a device he sat on the crystal keyboard. A green light emitted from the device and scanned the massive hard drive below and behind the crystal keyboard. He waited a few seconds for analysis.

Touching a stud on the side of the device caused it to project a three-dimensional hologram of Endymion's computer system. The guard studied the schematic, intently searching for something. His study was only interrupted by a glance back at the door. On one of the computer's monitors, aerial views of the hovercar accident could be seen. The Asteroid Senshi were there, as well as Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars from Queen Serenity's Senshi. There was no indication he had been discovered.

"Amazing. This system is even more sophisticated than I thought."

His hand pulled out a small bag from the pants pocket of his uniform. Opening the bag, the guard plucked out a small metallic device three inches long and a inch wide. Searching the computer, the guard found the access port he was looking for. Bringing the device up, he placed it in the portal. After a few moments, he removed the device.

Then a hand shot out from nowhere and seized his wrist. The guard turned and found himself face to face with Sailor Moon's Moon Tier.

"Don't move," she advised him with a note of menace to her voice.

Continued in Chapter 6


	6. Secrets To Protect

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 6: "Secrets To Protect"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Standing in her father's computer room, Sailor Moon held an intruder by one wrist while she kept the Moon Tier trained on him at point blank range. The man was of South American descent and was dressed as a palace security guard.

"OK, what are you doing in here?" she demanded, her trails of pink hair fluttering behind her.

"I was investigating a disturbance, Princess," he replied. "With the recent incident . . ."

"None of the guards have access to Pop's computer room," Sailor Moon told him with deep seriousness. "And we don't have anyone of South American descent on the security staff."

"I see," the mystery man said softly.

Like lightning, his hand shot up and seized the wrist Sailor Moon was using to hold his wrist. Bending to his left, the man sought to throw Sailor Moon to the floor. But Sailor Moon executed a flawlessly gymnastic cartwheel flip and blocked the move. It did allow the disguised guard to pull free of her grasp.

"Silver Moon . . .!" Sailor Moon began, the Moon Tier pointed right at the intruder.

But the intruder flipped a small white pellet from his belt buckle at Sailor Moon's face. The pellet exploded in flame on contact with the air. Sailor Moon was forced to flinch back from the fire. Using the distraction, the intruder bolted for the door.

"Computer, security alert one by the King's computer room!" Sailor Moon shouted as her quarry barreled out the door. "Computer, acknowledge!"

When the Environmental Control Computer didn't respond, Sailor Moon took off after him. However, her chase was hampered by the ornamental wings on her costume that caught in the door. It was a struggle to fit them through, losing her precious seconds. Then as she ran down the corridor after the intruder, she realized that the wings were providing wind resistance and slowing her down.

"DAMN THESE WINGS!" snarled the Princess.

She stopped, bent around and tore the wings from her fuku with several violent jerks. The process was repeated for the other side. Running down the hall to a junction, Sailor Moon looked left and then right. But there was no sign of the man who had invaded her father's computer room.

"Computer, acknowledge!" snapped Sailor Moon.

"Acknowledging," was the response. So apparently only the access link to the computer room was overridden.

"Location of any non-palace entities on this level or the levels immediately above or below us!"

"No non-palace entities located," the computer replied.

"What?" Sailor Moon gasped. She engaged her Senshi Communicator. "Diana?"

"Yes, My Lady."

"Someone tried to bust into Pop's computer again! Tell Mom and Pop and Luna! I'm going to keep searching this level!" As she finished, she noticed Helios approaching.

"Consider it done, My Lady," came Diana's response.

"Your attempt at apprehension was unsuccessful, Maiden?" Helios asked.

"Well, I kept him from doing whatever he was going to do," Sailor Moon sighed, heading down the corridor junction. Helios followed. "I think. But this guy is tricky and he's fast. Computer! Log and report the location of anyone who works on this level! Also any recent construction!"

"Acknowledged."

"I cannot help but wonder what is so important on your father's computer system that a person would risk two attempts at it," Helios said.

"Me, too," frowned Sailor Moon.

* * *

"He was using holographic disguise tech again," Endymion announced. He was in a conference room with Serenity, the cats, the Elder Senshi and Sailor Moon and her Asteroid Senshi. On the video display was surveillance footage of the security guard running down the junction hall. In mid-stride, his appearance changed into a palace maintenance worker.

"How did you tumble to him in the first place?" Juno asked Sailor Moon.

"When I was overhead on Helios, I noticed him ease away from the security contingent handling the hovercar accident and head for the palace," Sailor Moon explained. "I was up on Helios in the first place because I thought that accident could have easily been set up as a distraction. And who is going to question a palace security uniform?"

"Good thinking, Usa," Endymion nodded. Serenity glanced at her and noticed her daughter seemed to swell with pride just a little.

"The question now is what does this guy want with your computer," Venus spoke up. "This is two attempts. Either he wants to sabotage it or there's something on it that he wants."

"Both of those thoughts have occurred to me," Endymion frowned. "I don't know of any file on my system that someone might find valuable. But my system is constantly collecting information from all over the world. I suppose it's possible that it might have downloaded some piece of information that I wouldn't recognize as valuable, but that someone else would."

"Well I can't tell from the device he had," Sailor Moon added. "It looked like a common portable drive. I couldn't tell if something was already on it, but he was going to put it into a buss port."

"I'll try looking through my data banks for something that might qualify," the king sighed. "It's not going to be easy, though. All of the information is catalogued, but without knowing what I'm looking for, it's a gargantuan task."

"Can we at least assume that this guy the Colombian government is looking for is our man?" Jupiter ventured. "Sailor Moon said the guy looked South American."

"Isn't that just the holographic tech?" Mars asked.

"Unlikely," Mercury spoke up. "If you notice from the surveillance footage, the suspect's clothing changed, but his facial features didn't. Face-altering holo-tech would require a larger power source."

"So we've got a face?" Mars asked.

"Maybe not," scowled Venus. "You can alter the facial features with hair dye and latex prosthetics. But I agree, he's probably South American."

"So unless there's someone else from South America who is in the country recently, it's probably our fugitive," concluded Jupiter.

Ceres and Juno glanced at Vesta. Vesta remained silent, but she was considering the implications of that conclusion as well and clearly not liking what she was thinking.

* * *

"I know what you're all thinking," Vesta grumbled as the four Asteroids walked back to their quarters.

"Look, Ves," Juno began. "It probably is this Jaime Ruiz that Colombia is looking for, just like Jupiter-Sensei said. Your guy being here might just be a coincidence."

"Yeah," Vesta frowned. "Or it might be Rodrigo's handing me a line - - trying to get into the palace through me."

"Does he know you're associated with the Crystal Palace?" Ceres asked.

Vesta's brow knit. "I don't know. I didn't tell him."

"Then it's possible he just likes you," Ceres replied. "No accounting for taste."

"Unless he recognized her at the club," Juno interjected. "We're not exactly a secret."

Ceres glanced at Vesta. She could tell the turmoil the girl was under. Her fanatical loyalty to Sailor Moon and to her sisters was at war with the genuine feelings Ceres could tell were developing for this Rodrigo.

"Pallas doesn't understand why Mr. Rodrigo-Sir would fib," Pallas said. "That would hurt Vesta's feelings."

"Don't worry. I'm seeing him tonight," Vesta revealed. "I'll find out what he's after. He's not going to pull anything on the palace if I can do anything about it."

Vesta felt a hand on her shoulder stop her. She turned and found Ceres there.

"Vesta, don't go off half-cocked like you usually do," Ceres advised her. "Rodrigo might be completely innocent in this. And if you go storming up to him tonight throwing around accusations, you might just destroy whatever might be blossoming between you and him. Love is something precious. It can wilt very easily."

"And not doing something that can get your crew hurt is important, too," Vesta replied. She calmed a little. "Believe me, the last thing I want is for Rodrigo to be this guy everyone's looking for. But I know what's important."

Letting her transformation fade, Ves entered their quarters ahead of everyone else.

* * *

Ves and Rodrigo were in the club, dancing with the other couples as the music vibrated in, around and through them. Rodrigo was casually dashing in a charcoal jacket and slacks and a melon sport shirt. Ves wore tight-fitting blue pants that disappeared into ankle boots of black, a scoop-neck sleeveless blouse of white and, her only concession to femininity, hoop earrings and gold neck chains in addition to the gold rings holding her hair.

"Vanessa?" came a question, followed by a hand on her bare shoulder. Ves stopped and refocused, and saw it was Rodrigo who had spoken. "Would you like to go back to our table?"

"Tired, old man?" Ves smirked, but even that was half-hearted.

"You seem distracted," he replied. "Perhaps you tire of my company."

"No," she said suddenly, reflexively. Regaining control, Ves shrugged and headed for the table. Rodrigo followed and sat down across from her.

"If it's none of my business, say so," he ventured. "You often tease me about my 'vast experience'. Perhaps it can help in this case."

Ves seemed to hesitate, unsure whether to speak or not.

"Why are you in Japan?" Ves asked. She looked away, something she rarely did.

"Business," Rodrigo replied casually.

"What kind of business?"

"Sizing me up for what type of provider I might be?" he asked flippantly.

"Wouldn't have anything to do with computers, would it?" Ves asked. She'd tried to hide it, but too much of a hint of her belligerence peeked out. Rodrigo noticed, but tried not to react.

"I am seeking an import deal for Brasilia," he said. "The private sector is looking for new product streams for storage grade crystals. The supplies we get from the United States of North America are good, but the people I represent were hoping for a better price."

"Sounds boring," Ves muttered, but she didn't take her eye off of him.

"Now you know why I didn't explain it earlier," Rodrigo smiled. "It's a big step up from the streets of Quito, but it's hardly exciting to a beautiful young thing I'm trying to impress."

"Quito. That's in Ecuador," Ves observed. "I thought you were from Brasilia."

"I work in Brasilia. I was born in Ecuador." Rodrigo leaned in. "Why the sudden interest?"

"Just want to know," Ves grunted. "Want to know what I'm getting into."

"And what are you 'getting into'?" he smiled.

Ves grew sullen.

"Do you think I'm seeing someone behind your back?" Rodrigo asked. "Or perhaps I'm only seducing you to get access to the Crystal Palace?" Ves perked up.

"You know about that?" she asked.

"Not when we first met," Rodrigo said. "But it's difficult not to notice the Royal Family, or their daughter, Sailor Moon. Or her court. Especially one particularly beautiful member."

"So are you?" Ves asked directly.

"Your true feelings are never far away," he smirked. "The truth then: When we first met, I was solely interested in your body. It felt good when we were pressed together for those few moments. As I've come to know you, I've felt more: empathy, respect, attraction." He reached over and grasped her hand. "I'm beginning to dread the day I have to return to Rio. I want to get to know you much better."

The entire time, Ves studied him, confident that her street sense could tell if he was handing her a line. He seemed genuine.

"So where were you today?" she asked bluntly.

"Today? I was negotiating price with the Shinsami Corporation for a consignment of memory crystals. It didn't go well, unfortunately," Rodrigo explained. Then something dawned on him. "You suspect me of the incident at the Crystal Palace?"

"The guy was South American," Ves said stonily. "Not too many South Americans in Japan at the moment."

Rodrigo allowed himself a little laugh. "That's priceless. And if I were this man, how would it change your feelings toward me?"

"It means I'd have to take you down," Ves replied grimly. "Because the King is the father of one of my crew."

"Ah," the man nodded knowingly. "I understand." He thought a moment. "Come, Vanessa, this place is far too noisy."

Outside, walking on the Promenade, Ves walked with one eye on Rodrigo, wondering what he planned. When they got to the ornamental fountain in the square, he stopped and stared at it.

"Vanessa, I was not in the Crystal Palace today," he said. "Your feelings for me will have to determine whether you believe me or not. My interest in you is based solely on you. You may choose to believe me or not on that as well, but it is the truth."

Ves looked at him.

"My attraction to you is because you're very sexy, you're very honest, and you remind me of my youth in the streets of Quito. They were hard times, but there were many pleasant memories as well. Being with you makes me feel like I felt back then: free of all conventions and restraint, and able to be who I am and do as I please." He swallowed nervously. "I think - - I could come to love you - - very easily. Maybe it's already happened."

The pair stood and stared at each other in the cooling Japanese night.

"Maybe it has," Ves said. She thrust herself up, wrapping her arms around his neck and capturing his mouth with hers.

Suddenly Rodrigo tore away from her. Momentarily confused, Ves saw that he had done so in order to avoid a stun baton swung at his head. Reflexively Ves stepped back two paces to get some safe distance between her and this unexpected threat.

The first thing she noticed was the scar running up the man's right arm, the one that held the stun baton. The second thing she noticed was that he was quick and skilled in close combat. Rodrigo had barely ducked the first pass of the baton and was already barely avoiding a second swing. This stranger was big and burly, but still as quick as a cat.

Well he wasn't the only one who could be quick as a cat.

"Vesta Star Power Make Up!" Ves yelled, her henshin stick appearing in her hand.

As she transformed, she noticed that the stranger had glanced at her for a moment, taking everything she was doing in, but continued to press his attack. What was surprising was how well Rodrigo was giving an account of himself.

"Fauna Assimilation, Bengal Tiger!"

Moments later, Theodore Almanza Garcia was face to face with a full grown female Bengal tiger, its body crouched and poised to spring, its teeth bared and a single wrong move away from them ripping flesh.

Vesta sprang at Garcia, the man narrowly avoiding her lunge. Quick to pivot, Vesta sprang at him again. The stun baton struck Vesta and a paralyzing electrical shock went through her body. She retained consciousness, but getting her body to work was momentarily beyond her. With Vesta dispatched, Garcia turned back to his original target. He received a blow across the chest and part of his head with a trash canister pulled up from the street. Garcia crashed to the street with a heavy thud.

Hearing the sirens of city observation drones overhead and CDP hovercars in the distance, Vesta tried to pull herself up to her feet. Glancing for Garcia, she saw he was struggling to get up as well. Then she felt Rodrigo brace against her tiger form.

"Are you hurt bad?" he asked and the question gave her a warm feeling.

"Just - - lost feeling for a few seconds," Vesta gasped out. "You OK?"

"For now," Rodrigo replied warily as he looked away. Vesta followed his line of sight and saw Garcia was on his feet again. But there was no more confrontation. A Civilian Defense and Protection hovercar arrived and two CDP officers quickly took control of the situation.

* * *

Makoto came into the den of the quarters she shared with Ami. To her utter lack of surprise, she found Ami at a computer station. She was about to say something flippant, but the woman noticed in the reflection from the computer screen that Ami wasn't her usual dedicated self. Walking over, her hands sought out Ami's shoulders and began massaging them.

"Something's bothering you," Makoto observed as she kneaded Ami's shoulders.

"Well it certainly isn't your massage," Ami sighed and let out a coo. "You have a distinct talent for that."

"Just one of the little skills I picked up over the centuries," Makoto grinned. "So what is it? Hotaru not doing well?"

"Hmm? Oh, not at all. She's making a fine recovery," Ami shook her head. "In fact, the problem with her seems to be keeping her in bed long enough for her to recover. I may have to engage a magnetic field to keep her in place."

"Doctors make the worst patients," Makoto chuckled. Ami smiled to herself at hearing her own words reflected back at her. "So what IS your problem, Doctor?"

Ami sighed again, this time in frustration. "I was just reconsidering the evidence of the second break-in. The inconsistencies, particularly."

"Such as?"

"The first burglary: the suspect used holographic tech to alter his appearance into a palace maintenance worker. Impersonated him for several days. Yet in the second attempt, a lower grade of holographic tech was used, only altering the appearance of his clothing."

"Maybe the first tech got damaged in his escape?" suggested Makoto. "And the lower tech was all he could get short notice?"

"Perhaps," Ami said. After centuries of living and working with her, Makoto could tell she was acknowledging the possibility without giving it too much credence.

"So what do you think?"

"The possibility exists," Ami began, "that there is a second suspect."

Glancing over Ami's shoulder at the computer screen, Makoto saw a Customs and Immigration Department file of a recent visitor to Japan. The picture was of a South American man, fortyish with thick black hair. The name on the file was Francisco Almanzar.

Continued in Chapter 7


	7. Shadows Of The Past

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 7: "Shadows Of The Past"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

"I was on a date," Ves grunted sullenly. She was in an interview room of a Civilian Defense and Protection precinct. A detective and two officers stood in the room with her, which didn't help her instinctive mistrust of police and authority.

"With," and the detective glanced at the holographic readout next to him, "Fernandez-San?"

"Yeah. We were just walking down the Promenade. Then this guy jumps us out of nowhere."

"And then?"

"And then I transform and defend myself and Rodrigo," Ves growled. "You saying I did something wrong?"

"You're not charged with anything yet," the detective replied. In thirtieth century Crystal Tokyo, such a belligerent attitude, while not unheard of particularly among the youth of the city, was unexpected. "We're just trying to find out what happened."

Before he could ask another question, the detective turned to nothing. Ves thought it momentarily strange until she realized he had a communications earpiece. Impatiently she waited as he received the message and then turned to her.

"Wait here," he told her, rising from his chair. "Someone is here to see you." He nodded to the two officers and together they left.

For a moment Ves considered transforming into a cockroach and escaping. But she shunted the idea from her mind. That's what she would have done in the old days. She didn't do that anymore. She had to be strong and face this, for her family and her crew.

The door hissed open. The teen's heart sank. It was Usa and Rei Hino. As usual, the expression on Hino-Sensei's face gave her little comfort. She glanced at Usa and found a little more sympathy, but Ves still felt like she'd disappointed the girl.

"What happened now?" Hino sighed irritably.

"You weren't listening in?" Ves replied, her back up.

"Give her a chance, Aunt Rei," Usa said. "All we heard was a report that you were involved in a confrontation in the Promenade."

"This guy attacked us out of nowhere," Ves explained. "I responded."

"He attacked you?"

"No, he was after Rodrigo," Ves shook her head. "I don't know, maybe they've got a history. I was just trying to defend him."

"Maybe they do have a history," Rei responded. "How much do you know about this man you're seeing?"

"Why?"

"Ves, the man who attacked you is an official with the Colombian government," Usa outlined. "His mission is to apprehend people Colombia has declared to be war criminals."

"War criminals?" Ves repeated incredulously.

"Does this man look familiar?" Rei asked. She put a photo on the table and pushed it to Ves.

"Yeah. It's Rodrigo."

"This is an immigration photo taken at Hineda Intercontinental Port a few days ago. The name the person gave to immigration for his visitor's visa was Francisco Almanzar."

"It's got to be a mistake," Ves shook her head.

"A man using the name 'Francisco Almanzar' purchased some hi-tech holographic software and some construction equipment and impersonated a maintenance engineer at the palace," Hino continued. "That impersonator made the first attempt on King Endymion's computer room."

Ves just stared angrily at Rei, so angrily that the priest momentarily flinched at the psychic feedback.

"How much do you know about him, Ves?" Usa asked.

"He said he was here to buy memory crystals for the firm he works for in Brasilia," Ves repeated. She was shaken. Usa could tell. "But he couldn't be the burglar! He was at the Shinsami Corporation all day!"

"We'll check it out, Ves!" Usa assured her.

"This guy from Colombia! He's got to be wrong!" Ves maintained. "Rodrigo grew up on the streets like me. He's probably got a past. So do I! That doesn't mean he's a war criminal and it doesn't mean he's up to something now! Don't make assumptions about him!"

"Fair enough," Rei replied. "But a word of advice: You shouldn't, either."

Ves digested this for a moment. Then she felt Usa's hand on her arm.

"Come on," she said. "We'll take you home."

"What about Rodrigo?" Ves asked.

"Rodrigo, or Francisco, or whatever his name is, will be held until we can determine just who exactly he is," Rei stated. "Once we determine that, we'll go from there."

As Ves rose, her mind was a whirl of contradictions. Her first impulse was to sneak in and free Rodrigo, because that's what someone did for your friends. But he was being held by the Japanese government, extensions of the King and Queen, and indirectly, Usa. She couldn't be disloyal to them. Following Rei and Usa out, Ves wondered what she could do.

* * *

"He's Jaime Ruiz!" snapped Theodore Garcia. "I'm sure of it!"

Garcia was in another precinct interrogation room. Also in the room was one of the CDP detectives assigned to the case, as well as CDP Security Chief Nakamura. King Endymion was also in attendance via holographic transmission. Garcia had contacted both the King and Nakamura before initiating his investigations in Crystal Tokyo.

"You know him on sight?" Endymion asked.

"Sight recognition is fruitless in tracking down Jaime Ruiz," Garcia responded. "He's changed his look more often than you or I change clothes."

"Then how do you know that Fernandez-San is this man?"

"The actions," Garcia said. "You don't track Ruiz by sight. You track him by what he does. This man, this 'Fernandez' of yours, is after something on your computer system and he's using disguise, deception and misdirection to get to it. That's Ruiz. That's his method of operation."

"Your Majesty," Nakamura interjected, "I have to agree that this 'Fernandez-San' is a suspicious character. The more we investigate, the less we find that rings true."

"I'll grant you that this man doesn't seem to be what he claims, Chief," Endymion replied. "But whether or not he's this infamous Ruiz remains to be proven."

"You're not going to let him go, are you?" Garcia exclaimed. Both Endymion and Nakamura were surprised by his vehemence. "If you let him go, he'll disappear into the wind!"

"We have no intention of releasing him until we can clear up whether he entered this country illegally and what his real motives were," Nakamura bristled.

"I'm curious, Garcia-San," Endymion probed. "You seem to be taking this investigation a little personally. If you don't mind my asking, what exactly is Ruiz to you?"

Garcia stiffened. Then he sighed in resignation.

"If it manages to convince you just what you're dealing with here," Garcia murmured. He took a deep breath. "Jaime Ruiz was a Lieutenant in General Almonte's Secret Police. Before the rebellion, he was a lead investigator in anti-government activity. He hunted down dissidents; either executed them on the spot or took them to Almonte's prison in Bogota where they were experimented on."

"Yes, we're familiar with the stories of General Almonte's atrocities," Endymion said.

"Soon he began to use his position to punish people who offended him," Garcia continued. "If a woman refused him, she disappeared. If a man challenged him, he was killed. Then the uprising came. Ruiz used his police squads to strike at rebel positions, capture rebel leaders, and rise through the ranks by his deeds. He was a Colonel by the time the Dark Moon invaders came."

"I assume he escaped the Dark Moon Invasion," Endymion asked. Garcia nodded.

"Ruiz is cunning," Garcia warned. "He used that cunning to identify and track down rebel leaders."

"Such as yourself?" Endymion asked.

"I was captured, along with my wife and two sons," Garcia replied, lost in painful memories. "Ruiz shot my sons right before my eyes, then proceeded to torture my wife in front of me. It lasted for hours." Garcia stopped for a moment. "Only an appearance by rebel forces saved us. It forced Ruiz to flee. My Esmeralda died from her wounds." Determination flooded back into his face. "I know Ruiz. He's burned into my memory. His face may be different, but I know his ways and his methods. That man you have is Ruiz and I will have him."

"If it turns out to be him," cautioned Endymion. "So what exactly is it that's on my computer that he wants so badly? If he's been in hiding this long, coming out in the open seems like a reckless risk."

"Apparently you downloaded a file with his current identity on it," Garcia responded. "I don't know where it came from, but it can compromise his current hiding place. He wants that file or he wants it destroyed. And he'll do anything to get it."

* * *

Ves and Usa walked down the corridor of the palace towards the quarters Ves shared with the other Asteroids. Usa wanted to be there for Ves, to support her in this clearly troubling time and to let her know that she didn't hold what happened against the girl. To Ves, though, it felt more like the relationship between prisoner and guard.

"Sorry I let you down," Ves choked out. She wouldn't look at the Princess.

"You didn't let me down," Usa assured her. "You were just defending someone you thought was innocent. There's nothing wrong about that. And if it turns out later that he was pretending to be someone he wasn't, then that's on him, not you."

Once again Ves found herself questioning her own intelligence for all the time she spent being suspicious or contemptuous of this girl.

"Thanks, Princess," Ves mumbled. "Princess, what if that guy from Colombia is right? I thought Rodrigo was straight. I thought . . ."

"Like I said, it's on him, not you," Usa told her.

"But I should have known!" Ves maintained. "I've seen con artists and players all my life! I've always been able to spot one right off! Why not him?"

"Maybe you did," Usa offered. "Maybe it just got drowned out by a louder voice. I mean, he is nice looking - - for a guy that age."

"That still don't say much for me," Ves grunted. They arrived at the door to her quarters. "Sorry I had to drag you away from Hotaru."

"Well, I think Aunt Ami was about to kick me out anyway," grinned Usa. "Besides, you're part of the team, too. I have to be there for you, too."

Ves nodded. The door recognized her hissed open. Immediately, Ves was seized around the middle by Palla-Palla. Being shorter than Ves, Palla-Palla ended up burying her face in Ves's chest. Momentarily startled, Ves calmed when she realized who it was.

"Hey. Sorry I worried you," Ves offered, patting Palla-Palla on the head. Seeing the others approaching, Usa nodded to them and eased away.

"So what's the word?" Jun asked cautiously. Palla-Palla still had Ves in a bear hug.

"I'm not in any trouble," Ves reported. A sigh escaped her involuntarily. "But Rodrigo might not be Rodrigo."

"I heard someone say that they think he's that Colombian war criminal?" Jun asked.

"That's what that Colombian cop thinks," Ves scowled. "I think he's nuts! But The Princess and Hino-Sensei think he's passing himself off as someone else for some reason. And they make a good case."

"Do you want my advice?" Cere asked.

"No, but you'll probably give it to me anyway," grunted Ves. Palla-Palla released the hug and stared up at her.

"Don't give up hope," Cere told her. That caught Ves off guard. "Rodrigo might be up to something. But that doesn't mean he's a killer or a psycho or something really monstrous. Don't cut ties to him unless he gives you a reason. Because once you cut those ties, you can't repair them."

Ves thought on that for a moment, then nodded.

"Ves-Ves will still be Palla-Palla's sister no matter what Mr. Rodrigo-Sir turns out to be," Palla-Palla offered.

"Thanks," Ves grinned. She exhaled. "I'm going to sack out now. It's been a busy night, you know?"

"Yeah, Ves," Jun grinned. "We know."

The three watched Ves head straight for her bedroom. Their concern was plain to anyone watching.

* * *

The door to Endymion's computer room hissed open. Normally he would only glance over to see who it was. But with the recent attempts, he actually tensed to defend the place if the wrong person was at the door.

Fortunately for them both, it was Serenity, with little infant Mamoko in her arms.

"Something tells me I've been here too long," Endymion looked away, avoiding his wife's impatient glare. "I'm sorry, but I just want to find that file. I feel that the sooner I can find that file, the sooner I can put an end to this situation."

"Perfectly logical," Serenity said, her irritation barely suppressed. "How long did it take you to think it up?"

"Serenity," he began.

"Honestly I think you should have married this computer," huffed the Queen.

"The ring wouldn't have fit on its finger," Endymion smirked as he pressed crystal studs.

"I just wanted to give Mamoko-Chan a chance to see you. It'll probably be her last chance before she goes to college."

With the baby and his wife right next to him, Endymion momentarily turned away from his computer. He pulled back the blanket and kissed the infant tenderly on the forehead.

"Are you having any progress?" Serenity asked, her irritation cooled by her husband's show of affection.

"The new search parameters have allowed me to narrow the list of possibilities to around ninety-two hundred files," Endymion relayed. "That's down from four hundred seventy-six thousand."

"Would it help to just search for the ones that came from Colombia?" Serenity asked, cradling Mamoko against her chest.

"That was one of the search parameters," Endymion told her helplessly. His wife goggled. "I've keyed in a dozen key search words, but nothing seems to narrow the field enough. And I just don't have time to examine the files one by one."

"And I wouldn't want you to," Serenity said, stroking his hair. "Do you think it's true that this man that was with Ves is the criminal from Colombia?"

Endymion looked at his wife curiously. "I wasn't aware you'd heard."

"Rei may look on gossip with disdain, but that doesn't prevent her from being one of its best sources," the Queen smiled.

"Well, Garcia-San seems convinced," Endymion answered.

"But you're not."

"I think his desire for it to be true may be clouding his judgment," Endymion judged. "I'm going to let Chief Nakamura and his people handle it. If they're satisfied he's really Jaime Ruiz, then I'll be satisfied."

"As you say. Well, don't stay up too late, Dear," Serenity said. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek. Rather than straighten up, though, her lips lingered by his ear. "I'll be wearing 'the nightie'."

As the Queen straightened and glided out of the room, Endymion just stared at nothing for a moment. Then he put his computer on auto-search and got up to follow.

* * *

Vesta crawled along the ventilation shaft between detention rooms in CDP headquarters, her antennae guiding her as much as her eyes. She was in cockroach form, as the ventilation shaft was only a meter wide. As disgusting a form as it was, and Ves had many memories from her youth of the invasive little creatures that turned her stomach, it was perfect for what she aimed to do. She was fast in this form, sleek and maneuverable, able to slip through nearly any crack or even glide through the air to a lower surface. As long as she didn't think about what form she was in, she was fine.

She had tried to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. The unanswered questions about Rodrigo Fernandez kept eating at her. Finally she had transformed and slipped out of the palace. Flying across the vast city, Vesta headed toward the Civilian Defense and Protection headquarters outside the city limits. Her intent was to confront Rodrigo and find out about who he was and what he was doing in Crystal Tokyo. She had to know if she'd been used. She had to know if she was potentially betraying her family and friends.

Slipping through the ventilation screen, Vesta surveyed the "detention room" - - Queen Serenity had long ago decreed that they not be thought of as "prison cells" - - for the man being detained. However, the room was empty. Scurrying back into the vent, Vesta quickly checked all of the detention rooms. Nothing. She checked all of the interrogation rooms. Nothing.

Rodrigo was gone.

Continued in Chapter 8


	8. The War Between Heart And Head

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 8: "The War Between Heart And Head"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

From her vantage point, in cockroach form, at the vent for the detention room's air circulation system, Vesta stared down, her antennae quivering. The room was empty.

"How the Hell?" the cockroach mumbled in shock.

Vesta had returned to the room from searching the other rooms on the floor. Rodrigo Fernandez wasn't there. Her first thought was that the CDP had either already handed him over to the officer from Colombia or they'd made him "disappear" to avoid embarrassing questions. Vesta shook her head. That was just paranoid. Japan was different. It may still happen in other countries, but not under the rule of Serenity and Endymion.

But the only other conclusion was that Rodrigo had managed to escape. And that really made him look guilty.

At once alarm claxons went off. Vesta began skittering back for the vent.

"HALT!" a CDP officer shouted, entering the room with a bio-sensor and a shock club. The bio-sensor directed him to Vesta's location. "On the wall! DON'T MOVE!"

"Screw that!" Vesta thought and disappeared into the vent.

Scurrying to the nearest outlet vent, Vesta emerged in another room. She was in the process of gauging how many people were in the room and where they were when a shock club jammed against the wall about a foot from her. The discharge from the club knocked Vesta off of the wall and jarred her out of her transformation. When she hit the floor, she was Sailor Vesta. Looking up, she found Chief Nakamura standing over her. As usual, he was not amused.

* * *

Vesta sat in a detention cell, cursing her luck and wondering if she'd finally taken the fatal step. It kept her from wondering about Rodrigo Fernandez. A sound made her turn and listen. There were voices approaching from down the hall. Vesta strained to hear them.

"Do you know how much I 'love' being dragged out of bed at this hour of the morning for another one of her antics?" Lovely; naturally they'd called Hino-Sensei.

"Listen to her explanation before you make her perform seppuku, OK?" Kino-Sensei was with her. Vesta sighed with relief. At least she had a chance now. "Chief."

"We caught her in the detention room of the prisoner Rodrigo Fernandez," Nakamura explained. "Fernandez is gone. She probably helped him escape."

"And then hung around to sign autographs?" Rei countered. "I doubt it."

"Can we talk to her?" Makoto asked.

Vesta heard the energy screen snap off. She looked up as Rei and Makoto entered.

"I didn't help him escape," Vesta declared, knowing it was impossible to lie to Hino-Sensei. "He was gone when I got here."

Rei stared at her for an uncomfortable moment.

"All right," Rei replied. "What were you doing here?"

Vesta exhaled. "I wanted to talk to him," she confessed. "To find out if it was true. To find out who he is and why he's here and-and what he's up to," and she looked away, "and . . ."

Sympathy began to color Rei's expression.

"And you expected him to just confess everything?" Makoto asked.

"I don't know what I expected," grunted Vesta. "But I had to try. Maybe he would have lied to me again. Maybe . . ." She bit her lower lip. "Guess I should have known. Nobody as sophisticated and worldly as Rodrigo could be interested in a little street punk like me."

Makoto and Rei exchanged uneasy glances. Then Makoto stepped out into the hall where Chief Nakamura waited.

"You heard her," Makoto told Nakamura. "Don't suppose we could just forget this?"

"She broke into a secure detention facility," Nakamura replied stiffly. "That's still illegal, even for members of the Royal Court."

"OK, she doesn't understand the term 'visiting hours'," Makoto argued. "She wasn't going to bust him out."

"That we know."

"And you wouldn't have even known he was gone unless you'd gone in to apprehend her in the first place, right?"

"That's an unsubstantiated . . ."

"Oh, come on, Chief, lighten up," Makoto pleaded. "The girl's in love. Love makes you do stupid things. Nobody was hurt." Vesta felt herself blush inside the cell.

"If I press this," Nakamura said sourly, "you'll only run to King Endymion and get him to order it. So go ahead and take her."

Makoto returned to the room and gestured Vesta up. Vesta accompanied the two elders out of the CDP offices to a waiting air car.

"Do me a favor?" Makoto said to Vesta as they got into the air car. "Try not to get into any more trouble over this guy? I know what it feels like to be in love, but at some point, you have to decide whether he's worth it."

"I hear you," Vesta nodded.

* * *

Cere was sleeping. It was something she enjoyed, mostly due to two facts: One, she didn't have to do anything to do it, and two, she could do it nestled between red satin sheets with a six hundred thread count while wearing an oh-so-heavenly silk and satin sheer black nightie that was a gift from Hideki. Modeling it for him had made her feel even more beautiful, if that was possible. He'd instantly wanted to paint her, but only finished the pencil sketch before he couldn't resist her anymore.

So a hand tugging on her arm was not a welcome thing.

"Palla-Palla," Cere mumbled, her mouth still buried in her pillow. "What are you doing in here?" Through a bleary eye, Cere could see that her sister was still wearing her footed bunny pajamas.

"Palla-Palla is sorry," the girl offered.

"I was sleeping," Cere grumbled. "And you know my room is off limits."

"Palla-Palla knows," Palla-Palla replied penitently. "She's sorry she interrupted your dream, even though she doesn't think flowers can actually do that."

"Stop - - peeking into my mind," Cere rumbled.

"It's just that," and Palla-Palla grimaced, "Ves-Ves is in trouble again."

Cere emitted a sigh denoting great fatigue. "Sometimes I think we should have left her in the orphanage."

"But it was Ves-Ves's idea to leave."

"How do you know?"

"Ves-Ves was the one who told us."

"THAT SHE'S IN TROUBLE!" Petulantly, Cere pried herself out from under her wonderful satin sheets.

"Palla-Palla felt it," the girl replied. "She could hear it with her head that Ves-Ves is mad at herself and that Miss Makoto-Ma'am and Miss Rei Ma'am and Mr. Nakamura-Sir are mad at her, too. But Miss Makoto-Ma'am and Miss Rei Ma'am also feel kind of sorry for her, too."

Cere slipped her black satin slippers with the black puff ball on the toe onto her feet and trudged out into the main room. Jun was there waiting for them, wearing a robe.

"If you're going to show that much, why do you bother wearing anything at all?" Jun asked. Cere knew from one accidental entry that Jun slept naked, as she had long ago in the Amazon jungle.

"So Hideki has something to peel me out of," Cere replied with a cocked eyebrow and a saucy grin. "What did Ves do now?"

"According to The Princess, she snuck into Rodrigo's detention room," Jun reported.

"As an icky cockroach bug," Palla-Palla added. "Bleah!"

"She was going to help him escape?" Cere asked.

"With Ves, who knows. But get this: when she got there, he'd already escaped," Jun said eagerly. "From a CDP detention room in a CDP facility! This guy is good, whoever he is!"

"Mmm," Cere nodded. "Are Kino-Sensei and Hino-Sensei bringing her back?" Jun nodded. "Then I'm going back to bed." She turned and headed back to her room.

"You're not going to stay and ream Ves?" Jun asked.

"Why? It's not going to do any good," Cere answered. "And since it's looking more and more like her boyfriend is a Colombian war criminal, she probably feels bad enough as it is." And the door hissed shut behind her.

* * *

"It was nice of you to help me sort this out," Endymion said. He and his daughter were working at twin input boards, searching his vast computer database for a file in a haystack.

"Just doing what I can," Usa replied, examining a file on the screen. Then she glanced at her father with a wicked grin. "Besides, it lets me play with your computer."

Her father smothered a smile. "I imagine your mother wasn't too happy when you told her."

"Didn't get a chance to," Usa informed him. "Mom was busy trying to feed Mamoko-Chan without opening her eyes. Luna was there when I left, so there's no danger of her dropping the poor kid."

"You need to be a little less critical of your mother," Endymion stated as he examined a file. "Your mother is a great woman. She's accomplished things that leaders throughout history only dreamed of doing. And except for that sassy streak of yours, she did a pretty good job raising you."

"Yes, Pop," sighed Usa.

"As I recall, she was pretty good at feeding you and sleeping at the same time."

"You are NOT serious," The Princess gasped. Endymion let the question linger.

The next few minutes found them concentrating on examining files that the computer search had turned up as potential matches. During that time, Endymion found himself once again proud that his daughter had not only taken up one of his interests, but was demonstrating that she might even be better at it than he was.

"So I understand from Chief Nakamura that Ves did a little clandestine visiting at the CDP headquarters last night," Endymion brought up.

"It sounds worse than it was, Pop," Usa said quickly, hoping to head off any possible repercussions. "She wasn't going to break him out. She's just Ves; rules are hurdles to get around rather than barriers to restrict."

"Sounds like someone I know," The King commented. His daughter made a face. "I realize the progress she's made, but she still has to learn that existing in civilized society means conforming to rules. Even the ones we don't like."

"Her heart's in the right place, Pop," Usa argued. "She doesn't do it for selfish motives anymore. Protecting what's important to her is more important that rules."

"We're debating in circles, Honey," Endymion sighed. "Sometimes . . ."

"Pop! I just had a brainstorm!" exclaimed the pink Princess. "What if the file we're looking for isn't a word file or a numeric file? What if it's a picture?"

The King thought for a moment while his daughter waited eagerly for his response.

"That could be," Endymion said. He began pressing crystal studs. "You keep on the other files. I'll examine the picture archives."

Eagerly the Princess set to work.

"Oh, and Usa? Good catch," her father added. The edges of the girl's mouth curled up.

* * *

After spending the afternoon in PKE class, Palla-Palla came straight back to the quarters she shared with the other Amazons. This was her routine every weekday: breakfast, class tutored by one of the Elder Senshi sandwiched around battle training, then two hours of PKE class and ending with two hours of Yumi-Chan's Toyshop, her favorite television series. In fact, any variance from this routine that didn't involve a Senshi mission made Palla-Palla nervous and upset. So when she entered, Cere, who was on line investigating a new strain of Lilac, steeled herself for the syrupy strains of the Yumi-Chan opening song, a fate she equated to having bamboo shoved under her fingernails.

To her surprise, though, Palla-Palla went straight up to her rather than head for the video console in her doll corner.

"Yes?" Cere asked.

"Is Ves-Ves still sad?" Palla-Palla asked.

"Yeah," Cere sighed. "She's been in her room for most of the afternoon. Went there straight after today's battle training. Guess she's taking this whole Rodrigo thing pretty hard."

"Did Cere-Cere try to cheer Ves-Ves up?"

"What can I do when she's in that kind of mood?" Cere asked. "Aside from slip on a banana peel, I guess. She's not going to want to listen to anything I have to say."

"Well, Palla-Palla is going to try," the girl announced. "Because Ves-Ves would try if Palla-Palla was sad over a boy."

"No she wouldn't," Cere murmured as Palla-Palla marched over to the door to Ves's room. "She'd go beat up the boy."

The door hissed open. Palla-Palla found the room illuminated by a single light source: a green screen on Ves's PDA, hovering over Ves's bed. As her eyes adjusted to the low light, she saw Ves was laying on the bed, holding the PDA on her stomach with both hands. Palla-Palla walked over.

"Ves-Ves shouldn't be reading in the dark," Palla-Palla admonished gently. "Miss Ami-Ma'am says that it's bad for the eyes."

"Hey, Palla-Palla," Ves exhaled. "You come to cheer me up?"

"How did Ves-Ves know?" gasped the blue-haired girl.

"Maybe I'm getting psychic, too," she responded.

"What did Mr. Rodrigo-Sir say?" Palla-Palla asked suddenly.

"You peeking again?"

"No!" howled the girl. "Ves-Ves was thinking about it so strongly that Palla-Palla couldn't shut it out in time."

"Yeah, I suppose," Ves sighed. "Here, read it."

"Palla-Palla isn't supposed to read in the dark. Miss Ami-Ma'am said . . ."

"Rodrigo wants to meet me tonight," Ves interjected. "Gave me a place to meet him where the cops and the drones won't spot us."

"Are you gonna?"

"I don't know. Part of me wants to. But part of me is telling me that he's either a war criminal on the run or a con artist who lied to me and probably just used me to get access to the palace. And that if I go see him, he'll probably keep lying to me." She grinned self-consciously. "That part wants me to meet with him just so I can kick his ass."

"And the other part wants to see him so she can have his babies and be married," mused Palla-Palla. Ves glanced at her funny.

"You're always pushing that mommy/baby stuff," Ves scowled. "Maybe I shouldn't ask you what you think I should do."

"Palla-Palla doesn't know what Ves-Ves should do," grimaced the girl. "If it was Palla-Palla in that situation, she knows Ves-Ves would just go and beat the boy up. But her Usagi-Mama doesn't think beating people up solves anything. She does know that fibbers are no good. So she thinks that Ves-Ves shouldn't see Mr. Rodrigo-Sir anymore."

She touched Ves's shoulder.

"But she knows Ves-Ves is going to see him anyway," Palla-Palla said with a child's innocence. "Does Ves-Ves want Palla-Palla to come with her? Because she will."

"Nah."

"Even if he's a mean old war man? He might try to hurt Ves-Ves and that would be bad."

"Nah," Ves smiled gratefully, covering the hand with her own. "I can handle anything he tries. No sense both of us getting in trouble." Her hand lingered on top of her sister's. "Thanks, Palla-Palla. You're better at this advice thing than you think."

Palla-Palla beamed happily.

* * *

"Endymion is busy at the moment," Serenity said over the holographic hookup she had with the CDP central office. "He's trying to find out what this Ruiz-San is looking for in his computer. If he finds that out, he may find a clue to who he is and where he is."

"We know who he is," fumed Theodore Garcia. "And we know where he WAS! But he's not there now, thanks . . ."

"Garcia-San," Serenity said gently as Chief Nakamura, standing in his office with Garcia, stiffened with anger, "you mustn't blame Chief Nakamura or his men. Apparently this man that we captured is very adept at eluding authority." She smiled benignly. "After all, he's eluded the Colombian government for twenty years."

"We'll find him," Nakamura added. "Rest assured of that, Garcia-San."

"I trusted you people," Garcia scowled, "and look what happened. So you'll forgive me if I don't put anymore trust in your methods. I found him once . . ."

"Garcia-San, we're not even sure the man arrested was the man you're looking for," Serenity pleaded.

"I'm sure," Garcia declared. He pulled at the cuffs of his shirt and then headed for the door. "I found him once and I'll find him again. And then I'll take him back to face Colombian justice for the people he murdered." Without another word, Garcia exited the office.

"Orders, Your - - um, Queen Serenity?" Nakamura asked. Serenity could see he was already near his boiling point.

"Continue trying to find him," Serenity told him gently. "And continue the investigation on his actual identity. We must be sure. It would be a terrible tragedy if Garcia-San captured the wrong man. Just terrible."

Continued in Chapter 9


	9. Those We Hold Dear

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 9: "Those We Hold Dear"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Ves walked down the dimly lit street and then turned into Naru Park with her street-honed senses on full. Even Crystal Tokyo had places that were deserted and poorly lit during the late night and Rodrigo had clearly found one of them. Despite her desire to trust him, and despite her sense of the ever-present observation drones that patrolled the skies above every section of Crystal Tokyo, she walked with her eyes and ears open and her henshin stick in her hand. For this was the perfect place for an ambush.

At once, she stopped. Someone was hiding in the shadows of Naru Park's dense foliage. She stared at the shadowy figure. It was a man about Rodrigo's height. Her eyes scanned the area and saw nothing that might be some sort of human or mechanical ambush.

"Is that you?" she asked in a low voice.

"I was about to call out to you," the shadow replied, "but obviously it wasn't necessary. Were you followed?"

"Just by the observation drones," Ves told him. They met half way. She could see now it was Rodrigo. Cautiously he remained under the cover of the giant oak shielding him from the sky.

"I'm glad you came," Rodrigo said. "I've missed you."

His hand came up to stroke Ves's cheek, but she pushed it away.

"Who are you really?" Ves fumed.

He paused a moment. "My real name wouldn't mean anything to you."

"Wouldn't be Jaime Ruiz, would it?"

"The man that Colombian is after? He's mistaken," Rodrigo replied. "I don't doubt the sincerity of his quest, but he's allowed his zealousness to cloud his judgment. I am not, and have never been Jaime Ruiz."

"So what are you up to?" Ves rumbled. "And don't give me that 'buying memory crystals' line. That's just your cover story."

Ves waited while Rodrigo considered what to say. This only proved that he was hiding something. Maybe he was Jaime Ruiz. Maybe he was just another con artist who got caught up in the situation. The longer he took, the more Ves questioned the honesty of his next response.

"OK, I'm here for a score," Rodrigo admitted. "I'm a street kid from Ecuador who has spent most of his life since the age of eight drifting from score to score to support himself. I steal something here, I scam something there. I'm a thief."

"I thought so," Ves scowled. Rodrigo flinched, stunned.

"I thought you would understand. You of all people," Rodrigo bristled. "We both came up the same. I can see it in every move you make, every word, every look. Don't look down on me. I never bullied the weak and I never stole from people who had less than I did. Am I Zorro? No. I didn't rob from the rich and give to the poor. I kept it and I lived well off of it. And I never killed anyone who wasn't trying to kill me."

"So you're an ethical con," Ves sneered.

"Does this change me in your eyes?" Rodrigo asked. "Do your feelings for me somehow threaten this little fantasy life that you've worked your way into? Don't get me wrong. I don't begrudge you all of this. It's one more example of how someone born into poverty isn't condemned to stay there. I escaped just like you did. I'm sorry you don't approve of how I escaped, but . . ."

"I don't give a damn how you escaped!" Ves snapped. "I don't owe anything to anybody except my crew and my family! And you might be a threat to them, so feelings or not, I'm not going to let you hurt them - - IN – ANY – WAY!"

The night air was tense around the two.

"Fair enough," Rodrigo said. "I wish I could warrant that loyalty."

"I wish you could, too. You're not half bad," Ves replied. "So now what? You expect me to help you get out of Japan?"

"I don't need help with that," he smiled. "These Japanese are good, but I haven't met the law enforcement yet that I can't outwit." He grew serious. "No, I just wanted to see you again. I just wanted . . ."

The two seemed to linger for a moment. Then their mouths came together and they hungrily embraced. Ves arched against Rodrigo's masculine frame, sating a longing that had been bothering her like a toothache.

"I don't suppose," Rodrigo gasped as they came up for air, "that I could convince you to come with me after I've concluded my 'business'?"

"Too many commitments," gasped Ves.

With great difficulty, Ves tore herself away and disappeared into the night. Rodrigo watched her go, wishing he could chase after her. But he had other things to do. "Too many commitments", as it was.

* * *

Tokagi Imamura was ready to close for the evening. It was nearly ten p.m. and after a long shift he was looking forward to going home. So it was of some small irritation that a man showed up in his air car rental shop minutes before he was due to lock the door.

"Hello, Sir," Imamura smiled as his training as a shopkeeper engaged. "Are you interested in renting an air car or are you returning one?"

"Renting," the man said. Tokagi noticed that he wasn't Japanese, but couldn't place what nationality he was. "I've got to get to Hokkaido as soon as possible."

The clerk momentarily wondered why he didn't just hop the express line. No doubt being a foreigner, he was unaware of it. More business for him.

"Certainly, Sir," Imamura continued to smile. "Did you have a particular model in mind?"

"The biggest, fanciest one you have," the stranger replied. "I have a client I want to impress."

"Yes, Sir!" Imamura replied enthusiastically. He pressed a pair of crystal studs on his counter top and a hologram of an air car appeared. "This model is our top of the line. Quite reasonably priced, too. Though I'm certain that price won't enter into consideration if you're trying to impress."

"Certainly not. I'll take it," he nodded.

"Excellent. I'll need to see your operator's license and get a thumb and retinal print. How long will you be renting the vehicle?"

"Maybe three . . ." the stranger began, fishing in his jacket for his operator's license. "Oh, I dropped it! Always when you're in a hurry!" he said as he fumbled the identity crystal onto the floor by the clerk's feet.

"Allow me, Sir," Imamura said, bending down to retrieve the crystal.

That's when he felt the thin wire come across his throat. It pulled tight as the stranger twisted it at the back of the head. Imamura's hands went to his throat, but the wire was pulled too tightly for him to get under and bent over as he was, he had no leverage to attack or pull away. Imamura began to choke. He felt the stranger lean into him, keeping him bent over. The clerk fell to his knees, struggling impotently to get free.

It took almost two minutes for Tokagi Imamura to die. When he was dead, his killer hauled the body into a back room. Calmly locking the front door, the stranger input all the necessary information into the computer console. The computer rewarded him with the access code to the air car on the screen. After recording the access code, the stranger pulled a vial from his pocket and spread powerful acid over the computer station and the front counter. While the acid did its work, the man activated his holographic disguise tech, opened the door, and calmly walked over to the air car. Within moments, the vehicle was lifting into the sky.

* * *

"My Lady, your continual staring at that infernal machine will make you cross-eyed," Diana declared, standing on Usa's bed. Her tail switched in annoyance.

"That's a myth," Usa murmured, studying the latest in a series of picture files located on her father's computer for some clue as to whether it was the file Jaime Ruiz sought. Her bedroom computer was remote linked to her father's. Her father had offered to set it up, forcing the precocious Princess to admit that she already had one that she'd made herself. "The worst it can do is give me eyestrain."

"My Lady, it's after ten," Diana replied, unswayed.

"So I'll sleep in. I'm Princess. I'm allowed."

"My Lady," Diana said, her tone a warning.

"Diana, I'm close! I feel it! This series of pictures are from the last days of the Colombian revolution against General Almonte! Maybe one of them caught Ruiz before he could disappear! Maybe it shows him with someone and he could be traced by that association! Maybe . . .!"

"Maybe you'll be less likely to miss such a detail with a full night's sleep," Diana retorted.

"Diana, don't nag," The Princess sighed in frustration. She went back to squinting at the picture, a gruesome photo of several revolutionary fighters standing amid several bodies of peasants in the remains of a village.

"The longer you take," Diana smirked, "the longer it will be until you can be with Helios in another pleasant dream."

Usa stopped and stared.

"Man, you don't fight fair," muttered Usa, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "OK, deal? I look at ten more pictures and then go to bed."

"One," Diana replied.

"Five," Usa countered.

"None," Diana said, brow arched.

"Diana!" growled Usa.

"Off to bed, My Lady! Now!" the cat demanded. Usa just stared at the new picture on her screen. "Are you listening?"

"Diana," Usa said with low-voiced excitement. "I think I've got something!"

* * *

One half of the top floor of the Crystal Palace housed the Environmental Control Computer mainframe. The other half was the Palace Guard Observation Room. Staffed at all times, the observation room was a gigantic complex of monitors receiving input from every security camera in the palace and every observation drone surrounding the palace. In addition, all alarms in the palace traveled here and alarms could be raised from here to any part of the palace. Nothing and no one approached the palace without being seen by the Observation Room.

The one thing the Observation Room didn't have was any sort of offensive weapon. Serenity had been adamant about that and Endymion reluctantly conceded the point.

"Captain," one of the guards said to the supervising officer in the room. "I've got an air car in quadrant three. It's on a course for the palace and is not responding to drone challenges."

"Warn it off," Captain Hondo said. Hondo was in his fifth year with the Crystal Palace Guards. He was relatively young, but knew his job.

"Air car is not responding," the guard reported.

"Engage the canopy," Captain Hondo ordered.

Instantly a magnetic field popped up over the exposed turrets of the palace. While the walls were sufficient to protect the lower floors, the electromagnetic bubble would protect the upper floors and prevent anything from flying over the walls. Metallic objects, such as an air car, would either be repelled by the field or held in place, depending upon their polarity.

When the field engaged, the air car instantly picked up speed. It hurled into the field, straining against it until its momentum was spent, then hung in mid-air like a fly caught in a web.

"Person exiting the craft, Captain," reported the guard.

Captain Hondo looked at the monitor. A single man, using a non-magnetic crystalline weave glider suit, exited the craft and rode the air currents down to the inner building of the palace.

"He's headed for level two," Hondo judged.

"Intruder alert, level two," one of the guards broadcast. "All forces converge on south wing, level two."

It was at that point that the air car suspended in the magnetic field above the palace exploded in a titanic fireball.

* * *

The infirmary was dark. Every electronic in the place had winked out right after the explosion that had rocked the palace. Not even the emergency generator had engaged, meaning none of the patient monitors were working. The on duty doctors and nurses had immediately gone to check the other patients, doing what they could with ancient, low-tech penlights. Only Hotaru had been left alone. Curious, the girl struggled to a sitting position and searched for Ami.

Seeing no sign of her doctor and mentor, Hotaru tried standing. That proved difficult. Tiny as she was, there still wasn't enough strength in her legs to support her weight. Commotion could be heard from outside of the infirmary and a sixth sense suggested to Hotaru that danger had visited the Crystal Palace. Heedless of her condition, the girl looked around for something to brace against. There was a chair with castors near, but not near enough for her to reach. Hotaru tried to reach for it, but she was just too short. And the premonition of danger ate at the back of her mind.

Closing her eyes, Hotaru reached out with both her hand and her mind. Her rudimentary telekinesis had been successful in levitating rulers in PKE class. A chair was another story. At first it wouldn't come and Hotaru felt the frustration of failure that seemed to dog her in life. She thought back to the advice her teacher had given her, and to the suggestions Palla-Palla had shared with her in taming and using the ability. Her center was very familiar to her, but it had always been something to fear. Memories lingered still of her days as the unwilling puppet of Mistress Nine and the terrible things she'd been forced to do. Touching her center always seemed a means to contamination rather than success.

The back of the chair came to rest against her hand. Hotaru opened her eyes. It worked. It felt like she had just run up four flights of stairs, but it worked. A timid smile sprouted on her. Now the next task was to stand up without crumpling to the floor or inducing another coronary incident. Hotaru took several deep breaths, mentally preparing for the attempt. When she was ready, she thrust up with her legs while pressing against the back of the chair with her arms. The waif got about seventy-five percent up, but couldn't lock her legs in time and flopped back onto the bed. Breathing heavily, Hotaru felt the frustration welling up again.

The second try was aborted when she felt the chair begin to slide away. Hearing the voice of her best friend encouraging her in her mind, Hotaru made a third try and succeeded. Using the chair as a walker, Hotaru eased over to Ami's office. Finding the doctor gone, she continued out into the dark corridor outside. Two palace guards ran past her, headed for Level three. Pushing the chair forward, Hotaru got as far as the stairwell to the lower level. She paused for a moment, wondering how she would proceed from here.

"Good thing it's downhill," Hotaru thought.

Abandoning the chair, Hotaru gripped the stairway banister like it was a life line and slowly eased herself down the stairs to Level three.

* * *

Luna raced through the corridors of the Crystal Palace at top speed, her objective the Royal Chambers. Moments before, the entire palace had been rocked by an explosion from above. On the heels of the explosion, all lights and computer systems in the palace shut down. When the back-up generators failed to engage, Luna's mission became clear to her. Breaking off her usual midnight prowl of the palace to ensure that everything was running properly, the black cat headed for the Royal Chambers. Her sole mission: Safeguard Serenity and Endymion.

Already chaos was beginning to emerge in the immediate area. Those awakened were milling about in confusion. Those already up were trying to find out what had happened or were seeking a safe haven. Security personnel were headed to Level Two, their advance only slightly hampered by the dark and the lack of elevators or computer controls. Her vision adjusted to the dark, Luna nimbly avoided the steps of the humans towering above her.

Arriving at the door to the Royal Chambers, Luna paused to be recognized. Then she remembered: no computer controls.

"Stuff and bother!" the cat exclaimed and began feeling around the door frame for the trigger that would engage the manual release and open the door. All palace doors had such a manual release that was located four feet from the floor that would engage in the event of a power failure. At Luna's insistence, a second release had been placed on all doors six inches from the floor to accommodate her and her family. Luna was about to engage the release when the door opened. She barely had time to avoid Sailor Moon racing out the door and down the corridor, pink hair trails wafting behind her.

"Your Majesties!" Luna exclaimed. "There's been an incident!"

Endymion was already up and listening to an old two-way radio transmitter. Undoubtedly he was in communication with Chief Nakamura. To the cat's surprise, Serenity was up as well, trying to calm little Mamoko. As she held the child to her breast, Serenity noticed that Endymion was headed for the exit.

"Endymion?" she asked.

"Chief says there's an intruder in the palace," Endymion told her. "He's headed for Level Two, probably for my computer room." The King stopped short because Luna was parked in the doorway.

"Your Majesty, I must insist that you stay here!" the cat demanded. "Sailor Moon just tore out of here. No doubt the other Senshi are involved as well, in addition to palace security. You must remain here where you both can be properly defended!"

"Got to agree with the cat," Sailor Venus added, entering the room. "You two have to stay here. The others will handle things."

Both Serenity and Endymion looked, in what little light there was, to be quite put out. But neither one argued. Then, unexpectedly, Mamoko let out a fearful wail. They all looked to her and saw Serenity stiffen.

"Someone just died," the Queen whispered.

Continued in Chapter 10


	10. Confrontation

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 10: "Confrontation"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

The explosion could be seen over a several mile radius of Crystal Tokyo around the palace. One such place with a prominent view was the street just outside of Naru Park. Ves had been sitting on a bench outside the park, mourning lost love. It was a feeling she hadn't experienced since that day Rudolfo had slipped away. It was one she never thought she would experience again.

Instantly she was up on her feet, ready to react. But the sight of the red and yellow fireball coming from the upper towers of the Crystal Palace was enough to stun her into inaction for a few moments. Once her wits returned, Ves galvanized into action. Sprinting for the palace, she transformed in mid-stride.

"Fauna Assimilation, Peregrine Falcon!" Sailor Vesta shouted, drawing the attention of several people out on the street at this late hour. Her body morphed into a falcon and the black bird streaked through the sky straight for the palace.

Landing on one of the Level Four balconies, Vesta found the door on security lock down. Frantically she keyed in her pass code, but the door wouldn't open. Cursing in frustration, the Senshi transformed into a gorilla and forced the door open. Racing inside the darkened palace, her transformation fading, Vesta spotted a shadowy figure down the corridor. Ready to transform into a leopard, Vesta charged the shadow. But when she got close enough to see, she found it was Sailor Juno.

"Vesta!" Juno exclaimed in surprise.

"What the Hell happened?" Vesta demanded.

"Somebody tried to crash an air car into one of the palace towers!" Juno related. "The explosion knocked out all of the power and computers! Ceres and Pallas are checking the north part of this level for intruders."

"There's somebody loose in the palace?" gasped Vesta.

"Yeah! Venus-Sensei said for us to secure Level Four!"

"Got it! Fauna Assimilation, Black Leopard!"

Vesta transformed into an African Black Leopard. While lions and tigers were faster and stronger jungle cats, the Black Leopard was notable for its keen night vision. Telling Juno to follow, Vesta began prowling the south end of Level Four for possible intruders.

"So how did your meeting with Rodrigo go?" Juno asked.

"Pallas told on me?"

"Cere pried it out of her. Did you meet with him?"

"Yeah," Vesta sighed. "He has his life. I've got mine. Don't look like they're going to get to cross very much."

"Sorry to hear that. I was pulling for you," Juno told her. "Well, look at the bright side, Vesta."

"There's a bright side?"

"Yeah. If he was with you, that means he's not Ruiz," Juno explained. "That is if Ruiz is behind this air car crash."

"Yeah," Vesta said, realizing Juno's point for the first time. "Yeah."

Then the message signal sounded on their Senshi Communicators.

"Guys!" they heard Sailor Moon say. "I think the intruder is headed for Pop's computer room! Get down here as quick as you can!"

Instantly Vesta the Black Leopard bounded off, leaving Juno to try to catch up.

* * *

Two Palace Guards lay dead and bleeding on the floor of King Endymion's computer room. Invisible in the dark, the blood trail from the point in the hall where their throats were cut led to where they lay. Callously the shadowy man who had taken their lives stepped over them. Guided by the infrared night vision visor he wore, the intruder made his way to the mainframe in the room.

Once it had been his mission to secure the file exposing his identity to the world. That goal was no longer viable. There was too much security around this computer and too many variables with Senshi of all sort running around. The shadow placed an explosive charge on the crystal stud input board in front of him. Realizing he no longer had enough of a window to access the computer, search for the file and retrieve it, the intruder's mission was simplified.

He would simply blow the computer up.

Two more charges were placed above the input panel, on the towering mainframe itself. A fourth was retrieved from the bag over his shoulder. His hand went up to affix the charge to the mainframe, but he stopped suddenly. There was a moment's hesitation.

The hand holding the charge swung to his right, knocking away the arm of the second person in the room, the arm that was reaching to grasp his. The shadowy intruder's left hand came up swiftly, holding the knife he'd used to murder the two guards. It swung, seeking to cut the second person in the room. Missing the moving target, the knife slashed back along the same arc. His opponent retreated several feet while the shadow held his ground.

"I can't let you do what you're planning to do," the second person said in a deep, thickly accented voice. "That's too valuable a prize for me."

The shadow's response was to attack, viciously and relentlessly with the knife. His opponent dodged or fended off each slash, aided as well as his attacker could see by an infrared night vision visor. It didn't deter the shadowy intruder. He discarded the charge in his right hand and pressed his attack, using his right hand to try to grasp the elusive man. Around the room they danced, knocking over chairs and desks, focused on delivering and avoiding death.

Suddenly one slash struck home. The second man flinched back, his hands clutching at his face. He staggered back and then fell backwards, tripping over one of the bodies in the room. Without hesitation, the shadowy intruder pounced, his knife high, seeking to end the confrontation permanently.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" rang out from the doorway.

The room was bathed in a pure pink light. The second man sagged with relief, his slashed face no longer hurting him. The first intruder, no longer cloaked in shadow, fell short of his target and landed on the floor on his knees. He looked up and found Sailor Moon standing in the doorway.

"Create a commotion to draw the attention of your opponent away from your true target," Sailor Moon quoted. "Nicely played, Ruiz-San. But you're a little bit late. I already found the photo on Pop's computer." She pointed the Moon Tier directly at him. "Now stand up." Several palace guards lined up behind her to enforce the Princess's wishes.

Jaime Ruiz cautiously got to his feet, his angry glare on Sailor Moon the entire time. The man made a big show of extending his left arm towards her, then turning his hand and opening it, allowing the knife to clatter to the floor. Behind him, the second intruder was pulling himself up to a sitting position.

Too late Sailor Moon noticed Ruiz's right hand was fishing under his coat. The arm swung up rapidly and threw a capsule onto the floor. It broke and suddenly filled the room with a burst of flame and a brilliant blue-green light. Reflexively Sailor Moon and the guards flinched back. And in that moment, Ruiz was on them with the knife he had scooped up off the floor. Sailor Moon felt the knife plunge into her stomach and fell backwards, the strength in her legs flooding away. The three guards behind her surged as one, but each fell victim to the knife. Ruiz turned on a dime and raced down the corridor on his left. As he ran, he pulled out the remote detonator that was in the pouch on his hip. The cover flipped off, revealing the trigger plunger. His thumb sought it out. He would push the plunger and detonate the charges as soon as he made the stairwell.

The stairwell blocked by a single girl in a hospital gown, a sickly-looking waif with shoulder length black hair clinging to the stairwell banister.

As Jaime Ruiz focused on Hotaru and changed course for her, Hotaru caught sight of the knife in his hand. It was coming up in a threatening manner, ready to taste her blood while the blood of Sailor Moon and several palace guards still stained it. Hotaru took in a sudden fearful breath. Her hand extended, summoning her henshin stick, and in a moment knew she could never transform in time, assuming she even had the strength to do so.

And it was away from her mind before she even realized it. The mental bolt, the telekinetic dagger that flew unbidden from her mind at the most unforeseen times, shot across the corridor with the speed of thought. It struck Ruiz squarely between the eyes, knocking him backwards as if he had been shot. The knife flew from his hand and clattered down the marble floor of the corridor. Ruiz toppled backwards and landed on the cold stone floor like a sack of flour. Hotaru stared at him in horror and the man who only seconds ago had meant her end now lay crumpled, his hands gnarled, his face twisted and his eyes staring up helplessly in a blind panic.

"H-Hotaru?" she heard a weak groan from down the hall.

At once recognizing it as her best friend and Princess, Hotaru pressed against the wall for support and shuffled down the corridor as fast as she could. The girl could feel her newly repaired heart thudding in her tiny chest, both from exertion and from fear of what she would find. Down the hall, illuminated by a faint pink light from the orb of the Moon Tier, Sailor Moon lay awkwardly amid the bodies of three palace guards. The white mid-section of her sailor fuku was black with blood. The sight caused Hotaru's legs to buckle beneath her. She tumbled to the floor still twenty-five feet away from her friend.

Grimacing in pain, Hotaru began to crawl on her hands and knees toward the fallen Sailor Moon. Each pace was agony for her, but the girl doggedly continued on.

"Hotaru," Sailor Moon gasped out, looking pale in the pink illumination. "Don't - - heal me."

"Usa!" Hotaru grimaced as she pushed on.

"You'll," Sailor Moon gasped out, "kill yourself. D-Don't."

"I have to!" Hotaru wailed, tears streaming down her face. Would she have enough strength to do it? Would she even make it to Sailor Moon's side in time?

"No, Hotaru," Sailor Moon grunted, her own pain twisting her features.

Hotaru took another agonizing pace toward her friend.

And suddenly in a swirl of silver, Queen Serenity appeared like a divine spirit. The Queen glowed in the dim light of the corridor. She fell to her knees before the crumpled body of her daughter. Sailor Moon looked up at her anxiously. She watched Serenity bring a hand down, gently covering the wound with her palm. Silver light sprayed out in all directions from under her palm. Sailor Moon sighed with momentary contentment.

Serenity slumped forward, bracing herself on the floor with her two hands. She exhaled deeply in exhaustion. And it was then that Hotaru used up the last of her strength. The girl slumped to the floor in a heap.

"Mom," Sailor Moon whispered weakly. "Help Hotaru."

Before the Queen could answer, a huge Black Leopard entered the hall. Everyone was startled and fearful until the ebon cat shouted, "Princess!" Then they knew it was Vesta. On her heels, the other Asteroids arrived. Ceres had her gloves covered with luminous moss and Pallas had used her "Fiery Incantation" to ignite a curtain wrapped around a curtain rod to provide light. Immediately they ran to the fallen Hotaru.

"Help her, please," Queen Serenity said. Then she bent over Sailor Moon and the pair disappeared in a swirl of silver light. The Asteroids knelt down around Hotaru.

"Hey, Hotaru, you don't look so good," Ceres said as Juno cradled the girl.

"Feel so," panted Hotaru, "so weak."

"Pallas will take you to the doctor!" Pallas exclaimed, handing the torch to Juno. "Beautiful Incantation!"

Lifting Hotaru up with her telekinesis, Pallas headed for the stairwell. Ceres came along to provide light with her coated gloves. Juno got up and went over to the quivering wreck near the stairwell, while Vesta went over to the three fallen guards.

"Hey, Juno!" Vesta called out. "Forget about the medical teams! These three have had it!"

"Princess is lucky he didn't kill her, too!" Juno called back. She looked again at the crumpled shell that was once Jaime Ruiz. "Wow, this guy's going to need a med team! Looks like Hotaru must have done a number on him with her mind bolt. No wonder she was so weak." Juno pulled up her communicator to call for a medical team.

And as she waited for the medical team, a stray scent caught Vesta's nose. The Black Leopard glanced into the computer room. She sniffed again.

"I know that scent," Vesta murmured.

* * *

With the situation in the palace back under control, the task of assessing the damage was next. Assembled in King Endymion's office were Serenity, the cats, the Elder Senshi and Chief Nakamura of the CDP. Mamoko was in the Queen's arms, sleeping peacefully. Serenity was looking very tired and drawn, motivating Ami to ease up next to her. There was still no working computers in the palace other than Ami's Senshi computer, but a generator had been brought in to supply the palace with rudimentary power.

"Ami-Chan," huffed Serenity when she noticed the doctor next to her with a hand-held medical scanner, "would you PLEASE get that thing away from me!"

"Serenity, let her do her job!" Rei fussed irritably.

"It's all right," Ami replied calmly. "I got what I needed. As soon as Serenity gets a chance to rest, she'll be fine."

"With all of the sleeping she does, you'd think she'd have enough stored up for a month," muttered the priest. The Queen stuck her tongue out at Rei.

"Yes, um," Nakamura began, eyeing the childish back-and-forth with disdain, "the suspect has been taken into custody. He's in the medical ward at CDP's main detention facility." His frown worsened. "The preliminary diagnosis is that the physical effects - - of whatever the Tomoe girl hit him with - - will be permanent."

"Good," grunted Makoto.

"Mako-Chan," Serenity admonished.

"He killed five guards and stabbed my favorite person in the entire universe," Rei added. "And he sent this entire palace into chaos simply to obtain a picture. I'm sorry, Serenity, but it's hard to work up any sympathy for him." Serenity looked down rather than argue.

"How are Usa and Hotaru doing anyway?" Minako ventured.

"Usa is healing," Ami reported, glancing at Serenity, "thanks to some timely assistance. With some reconstructive surgery and a few weeks rest, she won't even have a scar. Hotaru set her recovery back several weeks, but did no permanent damage that I can find. I've put them in the same room in the infirmary. Maybe they'll stay put if they have each other for company." The others chuckled.

"So what took out the lights and the computers?" Makoto asked. "I wouldn't figure a simple air car crash to cause that much damage."

"Ordinarily it wouldn't," Endymion answered. "The Chief's forensics people found fragments of an electromagnetic generator in the cargo bay of that air car. The crash split the shielding on the generator and caused an electromagnetic pulse through the palace and the surrounding area around the palace for a quarter kilometer. Our suspect was planning to use the pulse to permanently damage my computer and its files. And the ensuing chaos gave him enough cover to get to my computer room and make certain. When he found that the computer was still functional, due to the pulse shielding I built into it, he started planting the explosives he brought."

"Charming," scowled Minako. "Reminds me of a record producer I used to know."

"We're still waiting for confirmation on his identity," Nakamura added. "But given his actions, I think it's safe to assume that he's Jaime Ruiz."

"You don't need to assume, Chief," Ami spoke up. "Diana was able to show me the picture Usa found. Apparently someone had taken the composite computer simulation of Col. Ruiz and managed to trace him to his current identity. That identity was recorded and set against the composite in a comparison shot. My assumption is that Col. Ruiz found out about the photo file and attempted to destroy it." She frowned. "I also assume that he probably already dealt with the person who made the photo file. But not before the person managed to send the file to Endymion's computer for safekeeping and potential future public access."

"Why is it every time I listen to her, it reminds me of those science classes I used to sleep through in school?" Minako whispered to Makoto. Makoto nudged her with her elbow.

"Maintenance will start tomorrow morning to fix the damage caused by the magnetic pulse," Luna informed them. "It will mean all computer controls will be inoperable for the next few days. Priority, of course, will be given to tech essential to the infirmary and the palace guards. Please be patient."

"Well, we didn't come out of it unscathed," Endymion summed up, "but we won. Thank you, everyone, for your efforts." He extended a hand to Serenity and she allowed him to pull her to her feet. "And now bed for you, my dear."

"In a little bit," Serenity nodded absently and turned for the door. "I want to check in on Usa first."

* * *

The next morning found the four Asteroids at breakfast.

"So the guy Hotaru took out was Ruiz?" Jun asked with keen interest.

"That's what Miss Ami-Ma'am thinks," Palla-Palla nodded.

"Wait until I tell Prime Minister Gomez," Jun chortled.

"And just HOW did you find that out?" Cere asked pointedly.

"Palla-Palla asked her," Palla-Palla replied with some confusion. It wasn't what Cere was expecting to hear. Her startled response sent Jun to giggling.

"Yeah, well they better never let me near him," Ves rumbled. "If he would have killed The Princess, I'd be over there now for a little payback and I don't care how many CDP got in my way." She glanced at Cere. "And don't give me that look!"

"Troll," huffed Cere. Just then a cafeteria worker walked over and bent down to Ves.

"The guard station at the front gate called," she told Ves. "You have a visitor."

"Me?" Ves wondered openly. "Who would be visiting me?"

"Well why don't you go find out," Jun smiled with predatory glee. "Then you can tell us all about it."

"Yeah, like I'd tell you busybodies anything," grunted Ves as she headed for the door. The sound of three giggling girls escorted her out.

Nearing the gate, Ves could see a male figure standing with the guards at the front gate guard station. The closer she got, the more she was certain that she didn't recognize this obviously Japanese man.

"Yeah, you wanted me?" Ves challenged him as the guards looked away.

"Vanessa," the Japanese man said with a Spanish accent, "I'm so glad you're not hurt."

"Rodrigo?" she mumbled in shock.

Continued in Chapter 11


	11. All's Well That Ends Well?

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 11: "All's Well That Ends Well?"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

In the infirmary room she was now sharing, Hotaru glanced over at her friend. The Princess Usagi Small Lady Chiba (though everyone knew never to call her that) had a sterile, chemically treated bandage wrapped around her waist. The chemicals in the bandage would stimulate cellular regeneration and help heal the knife wound that had sliced through part of her large intestine. It would also provide an antiseptic field in her body to inhibit peritonitis. And, given the Princess's lack of inhibition when it came to displaying her young body, the fact that reconstructive surgery would remove all traces of a scar was welcome news as well.

But Usa's expression was anything but happy.

"Usa?" Hotaru squeaked. "Are you mad at me?"

"I'm mad at me," Usa replied without looking at her. In fact she wouldn't look anywhere except straight ahead. "I handled that guy like an amateur. I was over-confident and I almost got killed for it. And I almost got you killed, too." Finally she turned to her friend. "What were you doing down there anyway?"

"I felt the explosion," Hotaru explained. "I wanted to help."

"Hmm," Usa replied and went back to brooding.

"I didn't want to just sit back and do nothing when people needed help," Hotaru argued.

"At least you did some good," Usa said. "When it came down to it, you did just what you had to do to take that guy down."

"I didn't do it," Hotaru shook her head. "Not consciously, anyway. It just came. I saw the knife and I got scared because I didn't know if I could transform." Her lip quivered. "And the mind bolt came. I didn't want to do it. Mizuno-Sensei says I hurt him permanently. I didn't want that."

"Sometimes people force you to go where you don't want to go because they're too selfish or rotten to stop. It's not your fault. He brought it on himself." Usa pounded her fist into the mattress weakly. "If only I hadn't been so cocky! I was so proud of myself for finding that photo that I forgot who I was dealing with. This guy killed hundreds over his life."

"Usa," Hotaru began.

"I should have known! I should have been smarter!"

"You can't know everything," Hotaru told her. "Even Sherlock Holmes got surprised every once in a while."

"Sherlock who?" the pink Princess asked.

"The detective novels? Don't they have them in the thirtieth century?"

"I guess. I never really was in to ancient literature."

"Thanks. Now I feel a thousand years old," muttered Hotaru.

"Sorry," chuckled Usa. Hotaru glanced at her with a smile and both girls realized that the bonds of friendship were as strong as every. "You don't look it."

"Thank the gods for that!" gasped the girl.

* * *

Jaime Ruiz lay in an infirmary bed in the Central Defense and Protection headquarters outside Crystal Tokyo. He didn't move. He couldn't, really. His arms were gnarled and useless. His face was twisted and grotesque. His legs, while still functional, were held to the bed by magnetic shackles. All he could do right now was stare at the ceiling and eat through a tube.

Outside the room, looking at him through an observation glass, were King Endymion and Queen Serenity, along with Chief Nakamura and Theodore Garcia. It was a tense gathering.

"How soon will he be available to transport back to Colombia?" Garcia asked.

"The CDP physician wants to keep him for forty-eight hours to make sure infection doesn't set in," Nakamura explained in his usual blunt manner. "After that, he'll be released into your custody." The Chief glanced at the royal couple. "Provided there are no objections."

"You're certain that he is Ruiz-San?" Serenity asked.

"Our genetics forensics team confirmed his identity to within one-one thousandth of a percent chance for error," Nakamura replied. "Those figures were confirmed by your Dr. Mizuno."

"He's Ruiz," Garcia added. "I can tell by the look in his eye."

"You were sure that other man was Ruiz, as I recall," Endymion pointed out.

"Obviously I was mistaken," Garcia replied with some difficulty. "Perhaps I've been at this too long. Or perhaps I was too anxious to see a murdering butcher like Ruiz come to justice."

"Or maybe your vision was clouded by memories," Serenity offered. "It's understandable. And while his capture won't help the dead, perhaps it can help the living to finally know some peace."

"Maybe so," Garcia responded curtly.

"Garcia-San, may I ask what you intend to do with him once he's back in Colombia?" Serenity asked. "You're not going to execute him, are you?"

"As I said before, that's up to the courts to decide," Garcia responded. "Given all that he's done, I'd say execution is very likely."

Everyone could sense Serenity's distress.

"Would you rather he serve out a prison term like this?" Garcia asked, gesturing to the gnarled, broken man. "I admit, it would be justice of a sort, but if you're thinking is mercy, I hardly think it qualifies. And we're still struggling to recover from Almonte's heel. Caring for him for thirty years in that state is money that can be used to help our poor."

"Our medical technology could restore a lot of his physical abilities," Serenity began.

"We have the technology, too," Garcia cut her off. "But the cost, again, would be better used helping the innocent than the guilty. Queen Serenity, if it seems like I don't care about him, you're right. I don't. I would go in there and shoot him between the eyes if I could. But it isn't what I fought and sacrificed for. However I'm also looking at this from a practical side, rather than an idealistic one. If it comes down to choosing between helping innocents and helping him, I'm going to choose the innocents. Maybe you have the capacity to help everyone. We in Colombia don't. My apologies if that offends you."

"It isn't you giving offense, Garcia-San," Serenity replied charitably. "I suppose it's the situation that offends." She glanced at Endymion and he nodded. "When he's ready to travel, you may take him back to Colombia." She reached out and gently grasped Garcia's sleeve. "But if you can find it in your hearts and in your situation, have mercy. Mercy can be a miraculous healer, Garcia-San."

* * *

Nearing the gate, Ves could see a male figure standing with the guards at the front gate guard station. The closer she got, the more she was certain that she didn't recognize this obviously Japanese man.

"Yeah, you wanted me?" Ves challenged him as the guards looked away.

"Vanessa," the Japanese man said with a Spanish accent, "I'm so glad you're not hurt."

"Rodrigo?" she mumbled in shock.

The Japanese man walked up and wrapped his arms around Ves, hugging her to his body. The guards seemed surprised and more than a little curious. However, Ves's reaction was one of conflict. She had given up on seeing him again and she wasn't entirely certain of his feelings. But her body couldn't help but respond.

"I heard about what happened last night," Rodrigo said from behind his holographic disguise after he finally pulled away. "Mother Maria be praised that you're all right."

"Yeah, it got hairy there for a little bit," Ves murmured, her manner subdued. "But I'm OK. What's with the get-up?"

"I'm still a wanted man, remember?" Rodrigo same surreptitiously.

"So I thought your 'business' was done and you were hitting the road?"

"I've hurt you. I apologize for that," Rodrigo offered. "I don't blame you for your suspicions. But at least now you know I'm not Jaime Ruiz. And though I've given you little reason to trust me, I do find you a very attractive woman. I wish things could have been different, but if wishes were beans and rice . . ."

". . .we'd never go hungry again," Ves finished the thought. "Didn't know they had that one in Ecuador, too."

"I think it's common to any place of poverty," Rodrigo mused. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. But if you're ever in Ecuador . . ."

"Look you up?" Ves asked with an arched eyebrow. "I'd have to know your name, first."

"Yes. I suppose," Rodrigo chuckled. "More evidence that it wasn't to be. Well, good-bye Vanessa. Try to think of me fondly one day."

"Hold on a minute," Ves said. Rodrigo turned to her curiously. "This 'business' of yours. It didn't involve King Endymion's computer, did it?"

"Why, Vanessa, I . . ." he began.

"Because you know I can turn into animal forms," Ves continued. "It's one of my 'things'. And I was in animal form last night. And guess whose scent I caught in King Endymion's computer room."

"Really?" Rodrigo replied calmly.

"So maybe you're not Jaime Ruiz," Ves scowled. "Maybe you're just working with him."

"Or maybe," Rodrigo began, "there was a second person after the King's famous computer system. Someone who didn't want to destroy it. Someone who wanted to steal it. Hypothetically, of course."

"Steal it?" Ves said, low enough for the guards not to hear. "Pretty big thing to try to fit in a sack, don't you think?"

"You don't have to physically remove a computer system to steal it," smiled Rodrigo. "All you have to do is copy the data banks and the operating system."

"Why?" Ves gasped in confusion.

"A crude person with little imagination would sell it for money," Rodrigo explained. "Of course, someone doing it for the reputation it would bring him worldwide as the greatest thief of this century, perhaps any century would be something else indeed. Imagine it, Vanessa. To pierce one of the greatest security systems in the world and steal the single greatest computer system the world knows; do you know how utterly famous a person he would be? Of course, he'd have to sell copies of the system at least once in order to prove he'd done it . . ."

Ves seized him by his left arm.

"Did you?" she asked fiercely.

"Unfortunately," Rodrigo smiled, gently pulling her hand from his jacket, "I had some competition. Last night's unfortunate business provided me with the chance to gain access to the palace. Once inside, I headed straight for the computer room, which I'd previously managed to pinpoint from my research."

"And nobody saw you?"

"I'm a professional," Rodrigo assured her. "But once I got there, I found this Ruiz madman preparing to blow the computer up. Well that would never do. You don't allow people to destroy great accomplishments. That computer, in its own way, is a work of art. It would be unconscionable to allow it to be destroyed."

"And you couldn't make your rep on it if it was destroyed," added Ves cynically.

"There's that, too," Rodrigo smiled. "So I tried to stop him. And ended up with a scar on my face for my trouble. Then your Sailor Moon showed up and I decided that it was time to leave."

"Good thing you did," Ves responded. "Otherwise you might have got hurt."

"By Ruiz?" Rodrigo asked with a sly grin.

"Yeah, him too," Ves replied. Her eyebrow was cocked, but she couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from curling up.

"Ah, I wish I'd met you under different circumstances," he chuckled. "You are such a little wildcat. If only I were twenty years younger."

"Why? You're not so bad," Ves told him, her mouth surrendering to the humor of the situation, "for an old guy."

"And you're not so bad, either," Rodrigo volleyed back, "for a young pup." The smile faded. "Well . . . I guess I'd better go before the palace guards realize who I am. Thank you for shining some sunshine into my life, Vanessa."

"Hey," Ves said suddenly, stopping him. "Just what is your real name?"

Rodrigo thought for a few moments and Ves prayed for an answer.

"Enrique," he murmured. "But if you prefer, I can always be Rodrigo to you."

* * *

The door to the King's computer room hissed open and Endymion found himself glancing warily at the newcomer again. How long would it be until he was comfortable in this room again? Only when he saw it was Ami and Makoto did he relax.

"Did Serenity send you?" Endymion asked.

"No, Serenity is in the infirmary with Usa and Hotaru," Ami answered. "I came out of my own curiosity."

"How close is Usa to a blow-up?" the King smiled as he pressed some crystal studs.

"You know Serenity and Usa," chuckled Makoto. "Get them in the same room for more than a half hour and they're at each other's throats - - especially if Serenity's worried about her." She unveiled a tray of sandwiches. "I figured you were too obsessed to eat right, so I brought a few things."

"How did you know?" Endymion asked, plucking one of the sandwiches from the tray.

"This one gets the same way," Makoto replied, nodding at Ami. Ami blushed momentarily.

"Was there any damage done to your computer system?" the doctor asked. "I checked in with maintenance on the repairs to Environmental Control and they've still got a few days before they can go on-line."

"Everything seems fine so far," Endymion told her. "Ruiz didn't have time to access the mainframe and the pulse shielding did its job. I'm running diagnostics to make sure none of the systems suffered any damage from the pulse." He pressed more studs. "Anything going on that I should know about? I get hourly updates from Chief Nakamura and the impression I get is that things are returning to normal."

"The attack on the palace has the populace concerned, naturally," Ami summarized. "And they became particularly concerned when they learned that Usa had been injured in the attack. Luna handled communications and things have calmed."

"Good. I have to remind myself to check with Luna and find out when the funerals are for the palace guards who died in the attack," Endymion told himself. "Though I'm sure Serenity has already made plans in that regard. She's good about that."

"Endymion," Ami began hesitantly, "far be it from me to suggest that you're - - um, inattentive - - but perhaps . . ."

"Perhaps I should tear myself away from my toys and visit my daughter?" Endymion surmised sheepishly. "I suppose I have been in here a little too long. I should stop in - - if only to referee between my wife and my daughter." Endymion pushed his lanky frame out of the chair. "No time like the present. I can pick this up later."

Accompanied by Ami and Makoto, the King exited the room. Not long after, a window popped up on his screen with a diagnostic warning.

Concluded in Chapter 12


	12. What's Important

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST  
Chapter 12: "What's Important"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

* * *

Hotaru listened to the fussing of her infirmary roommate Usa and the girl's mother, Queen Serenity, with rapidly thinning patience. The teen thought she understood Usa as well as she understood any other person. But there was one thing she could never understand and that was the girl's utter lack of patience with her mother. Sure, there were hints here and there as to why she acted that way. And sure, she understood that parents could be over-bearing at times. There were enough examples with her own relationship with her adoptive guardians, Michiru and Haruka. But Hotaru couldn't help but wonder if Usa didn't quite realize just how lucky she was to be Queen Serenity's daughter.

Thankfully, Hotaru spotted King Endymion in the entrance to the room.

"OK, that's the bell," Endymion announced. "Retreat to your two corners."

"Pop, she's treating me like I'm five again!" protested the future ruler of Crystal Tokyo.

"Brat!" snapped the current ruler.

"Serenity, dear, you're smothering her again," Endymion said as diplomatically as he could.

"But we could have lost her!" whimpered the Queen.

"I know. But you can't fix everything just by smothering it with love."

"Sorry," Serenity squeaked, looking at her lap.

"And you," he began, turning to his bedridden daughter with a cocked eyebrow. "Maybe you could be a little more patient? Because not everyone grew up with doting parents who smothered them with love in order to ease their pain."

Instantly Usa realized that her father was talking about his own childhood, orphaned at six and forced to grow up in lonely circumstances. Her eyes popped for a second.

"Gotcha, Pop," the girl said, her own eyes seeking her lap.

"I apologize if they disturbed you, Hotaru," the King said to her. "But you know they have a very - - spirited relationship."

Before Hotaru could respond, Endymion got a signal from his new PDA, as the old one had been fried by the electromagnetic pulse. He read the message and immediately frowned.

"Endymion?" Serenity asked.

"A message from my computer system," Endymion replied. "A diagnostic found a Trojan file in the system."

"I thought Ruiz-San didn't have time to access your computer," Serenity wondered out loud.

"He didn't," Usa said. "Download from the net?"

"All files are automatically scanned upon receipt," Endymion replied, puzzling over the problem. After a few moments, he reached a decision. "I'm sorry. I know I just got here, but I really should look into this."

"Can't someone else . . .?" Serenity began.

"It's OK, Pop," Usa cut in. "You go ahead. I promise Mom and I won't get into anymore fights." She grinned sadly. "Wish I could come with you."

"I wish you could, too," Endymion said as he hurried out. "But I know someone almost as good who can help me. Endymion to Ami."

* * *

"It's copying the operating system," Endymion murmured as he watched the command strings roll past on his screen. Ami was at the control panel touching crystal studs. Makoto was behind them, watching without fully understanding.

"And the memory banks," Ami mentioned as she continued pressing studs.

"How could something like that get on the system in the first place? All incoming files go through the most rigorous virus scan I could come up with."

"It wasn't downloaded from the net," Ami told him. "According to these command strings, the program entered your system through a port. My estimation would be from a portable storage unit."

"How?"

"Do you recall the first attempt at a break-in?" Ami asked him. "According to the time stamp on the command string, entry occurred then."

"So he had already broken in," Endymion mused. "He planted the Trojan, then came out and let me catch him to make me think I'd stopped him before he had a chance to get at the system." He paused. "Minako was right. Have you figured out what the Trojan is supposed to do?"

"The Trojan's sole task seems to be copying your system for download."

"Download where?" Endymion asked. "This palace is shielded from wi-fi downloads and uploads."

"According to this registry, download was made today," Ami reported. "With the shielding intact, and I checked to see that the air car crash didn't disrupt the shielding, the broadcast had to have been received by someone inside the palace."

"Well we'll just find out who was here during that time," Endymion said, sliding into the seat as Ami vacated.

"You don't suppose it's an inside job, do you?" Makoto asked.

"Hopefully not," Endymion replied. "I'm searching for all visitors not attached to the palace during that time parameter. Fortunately Palace Security was able to get some of the palace surveillance cameras replaced."

In seconds, a picture of Ves talking to a Japanese man at the front gate.

"Who is the guy with Ves?" Makoto asked. "I don't recognize him."

"Perhaps we're not supposed to," Ami remarked. She pressed a stud on her control panel. The image instantly changed. Ves was now talking to an older man of South American heritage.

"Hey!" Makoto exclaimed, pointing at the frame. "Isn't that the guy that escaped from CDP holding?"

"Why is he with Ves?" Ami asked.

"They were going out," Makoto told her. "Ves and this guy were on a date when they got jumped by that Garcia guy."

Several pressed studs brought Chief Nakamura up on the screen.

"Chief, I may have a line on that escaped prisoner of yours," Endymion said. "He's still in the city, but he's probably trying to secure a means out. I'm forwarding surveillance footage that's pertinent to the case."

"He won't get away, Your Majesty," Nakamura replied. "We'll lock the city down until we can nab him."

"Please notify me when you capture him, Chief," Endymion nodded and disconnected. Then he sprang to his feet and headed for the door.

"What now?" Makoto asked as she and Ami scurried after him.

"Now I talk to Ves," the King replied.

With no Environmental Control Computer to announce his coming, King Endymion took the four Amazons by surprise when he entered their quarters. With Ami and Makoto behind him, the four girls instantly tensed.

"Ves," Endymion began. His manner was controlled, but it was obvious he wanted straight answers and he wanted them immediately. "You met with a man today at the front gate."

"Yeah," Ves replied suspiciously. "Hey, I know the CDP wants him, but he didn't do anything to be in . . ."

"We believe he installed a Trojan program on my computer system and downloaded critical information from it."

"Damn," fumed Ves. "Damn it, he did it after all!"

"You knew about this?" Ami gasped.

"He told me he was planning on doing it," Ves explained. "But that the thing last night with Ruiz kept him from pulling it off. I would have stopped him if he had." She balled a fist and slammed it into her thigh. "Damn it, he lied to me again!"

"Do you know where he is now?" Endymion asked her.

"No," Ves shook her head and headed for the door, pushing past the King and Ami. "But I'll find him. I swear it!"

"Ves!" Cere called after her.

"I'll find him!" Ves roared and disappeared out the door. As one, the other three girls bolted after her. Makoto was about to follow, but Endymion stopped her.

"Let her try," Endymion said. "You can aid the search in a different way." He glanced at where the girls had disappeared. "And it'll probably be good for her."

"Good for her," Makoto sighed. "But I wouldn't want to be that guy when she finds him."

With the environmental controls still inoperative, the doors to the balconies were still on lock down. As such, the other Asteroids had to follow Ves up to the palace rooftop aeropad. It hadn't been damaged by the air car crash. When they arrived, they found Ves had transformed into Sailor Vesta.

"Fauna Assimilation," Vesta shouted, "Peregrine . . .!"

"Vesta, wait!" Jun shouted. Vesta turned back to her impatiently.

"I said I was going to get him! And I will!" Vesta snarled. "Nobody crosses me or any of my crew! NOBODY!"

"Vesta, think a minute!" Cere exclaimed. "What are you going to do, fly all over the city and hope you happen to catch a glimpse of him? Do you know how big this city is?"

"Maybe I'll get lucky! I got a good idea where he's going!" Vesta retorted. "Or maybe he'll get lucky and the CDP will find him first! But I'm going!"

"Vesta, Palla-Palla can help you!" Palla-Palla cried.

"Come on, Vesta, we'll all go," Jun added. "Four sets of eyes are better than one. And we want in - - because you dump on one of us, you're dumping on all of us."

Vesta looked for a moment like she actually wanted to smile, but her mad was too powerful.

"All right," Vesta nodded. "But how we going to do it? Grab an air car?"

"Turn into a horsie!" Palla-Palla howled. "Like Prince Horsie-Man does!"

"Let's do it," Vesta nodded. As the others transformed, Vesta yelled, "Fauna Assimilation, Pegasus!"

Transforming into a steel-muscled winged mare with reddish-brown coloring and a scarlet mane and tail, Vesta steadied herself for the others to mount her. Instantly Pallas squealed with delight and climbed up onto her back. Juno and Ceres quickly followed suit. Vesta pushed off and in moments was soaring over Crystal Tokyo.

"Artemis, this is Sailor Ceres," Ceres said over her Senshi Communicator. "We're searching for Rodrigo Fernandez. Can you link my communicator to the drone feeds, please?"

"Piece of cake," came the reply. Moments later, Ceres had a visual feed coming over her communicator.

"So where do you think he's headed?" Juno asked Vesta. "Rocket port or the pier?"

"Neither one," Vesta replied. "The cops will have those two places covered. Same with the magnetic rail station. He's not going to want to stand out. He'll either rent or boost a hovercar and head out of town using that holographic disguise tech to change his look if he's spotted by a CDP roadblock or a drone."

"But where?" Ceres asked. "Japan is an island. He's going to run out of road sooner or later."

"He's not using the hovercar to escape," Vesta replied like she was talking to a moron. "He's using it to get to a port where the heat isn't on. So where's the nearest port to Crystal Tokyo?"

"Yokohama," Juno nodded, smiling.

"How do you know?" Ceres argued.

"It's what I'd do," Vesta grunted. "And Rodrigo's at least as cagey as I am." Her jaw tightened. "Maybe more."

Pallas rubbed Vesta's neck sympathetically. Vesta was grateful for it, but kept her mind on following the road from Crystal Tokyo to Yokohama.

"Wish there was something I could do besides just look," Juno muttered as they flew. "Hey, Ceres, do you think you can ask some plants if they've seen him?"

"I could, but I wouldn't get much of a detailed response," Ceres replied. "Plants can distinguish height and sex features, but they can't really identify humans unless they're really familiar with them. My plants could identify me or you, but they couldn't recognize one of the guards."

"Yeah," Juno murmured. "Anything, Vesta?"

"Not that I can see," Vesta answered. "A falcon's eyesight would be better. But I couldn't carry you guys as a falcon."

"Pallas hears something," Pallas said abruptly.

"Just like that?" Ceres asked. "How do you know what to look for?"

"Pallas heard what Mr. Rodrigo-Sir's presence is like from Vesta's mind," Pallas explained distantly. "Then she tried to find that presence. Pallas feels like we're close."

The Pegasus and her passengers flew on as hovercars whizzed below them down the paved road between Crystal Tokyo and Yokohama. Ceres and Juno looked, but Ceres at once began to despair that they'd be able to pick out the right vehicle from the cluster that was traveling the road at the moment.

"We'll find him, Ceres," Pallas said suddenly. Ceres began to blush, but said nothing.

"Hey, Pallas," Vesta said, angling her head around to see the senshi. "That blue model just ahead on the left. See it?"

"Yes, Vesta," Pallas nodded. She paused for a moment. "He's there! Mr. Rodrigo-Sir is there!"

"And I've got just the way to stop him," Ceres added. "Floral Stimulation!"

Ahead of the hovercar they had pinpointed, the decorative shrubbery that lined the road began to expand. Branches suddenly grew across the road, thickening and elongating until the road was blocked by a green and brown barrier six feet high. Hovercars skidded to a stop, one even impacting with the shrub and becoming enmeshed by it. The vehicle they were after stopped short of the barrier. It sought to back up and escape the barrier.

"No, you don't!" Juno exclaimed. "Aqua Initiation!"

Instantly the front hood of the hover car flew up, battered open by the glob of water shooting up from the engine. Bereft of its coolant, the engine stopped and the hovercar dropped to the surface of the road. Vesta swooped in and landed by the vehicle as its occupant got out.

"That's not him!" Ceres exclaimed. The man who exited the vehicle looked nothing like Rodrigo Fernandez. "He must have his optical tech on!"

"I'll fix that," Juno said. Directing the water glob that hovered over the car, Juno crafted it into a ring of water. The ring closed around the man about waist high, serving the dual purpose of restraining him and shorting out his electronics. Moments later his image shifted and revealed him to be Rodrigo. Vesta transformed back and approached him.

"Vanessa, I . . ." Rodrigo began. Vesta didn't let him finish. Her fist found his jaw. Pallas squealed in fright. Juno grabbed Vesta and with some difficulty pulled her off of him.

"YOU LYING SACK!" snarled Vesta.

"I prefer opportunist," Rodrigo replied, controlling his temper.

"'Oh, Vanessa, I was so worried about you!'" Vesta raged. "And all the time you just needed to get past the shielding and grab your download!"

"I was worried," Rodrigo defended himself. "I could see that this Ruiz fellow didn't care who he hurt. Human life was cheap to him. I was worried that you might have been injured by him. As for the download - - well, I am capable of multi-tasking."

"STOP IT!" roared Vesta, pulling against Juno's grip. "Stop pretending that you gave a damn about me for a minute!"

"Vanessa, I've always been honest about my feelings for you."

"But when it came down to choosing between me and making your rep," Vesta spat, "even knowing what I'd do and how I'd feel if you made that rep against people that I run with, people I fight for - - you still chose making your rep!"

"And knowing how you feel about me," Rodrigo countered, "you still chose them. So what loyalty do I owe you?"

Vesta still glared, but she stopped fighting against Juno. Juno released her hold. Vesta held out her hand.

"Give it," she demanded.

Rodrigo held back.

"Fauna Assimilation, Bengal Tiger!" Vesta shouted and turned into a huge female tiger. She crouched to spring. "Give it!"

Rodrigo sighed in frustration. He pulled a portable drive from his belt and tossed it to Juno.

"Pallas, did he make copies?" Vesta, still in tiger form, snarled.

Pallas closed her eyes. Rodrigo stared at her curiously.

"Two," Pallas replied suddenly. "He has one in a deposit drawer in the Crystal Tokyo bank. The other was shipped to," and she paused for a moment as Rodrigo's eyes popped, "321 Merano Court, Quito, Ecuador, 42E-519."

"I'll call Artemis," Ceres said. "He can have the package intercepted and the deposit drawer seized."

"Very efficient, Vanessa," Rodrigo scowled. "You must feel so proud. So where do you take me now? Your CDP?"

Vesta thought for a moment.

"Hit the road," Vesta snarled. "Don't ever come back to Japan."

"Vesta?" Juno asked, surprised by the response.

"Queen would just slap him on the wrist and let him go anyway," Vesta said, transforming back into a human. "Assuming he didn't escape first. Easier to just let him go."

"The most sensible thing you've done so far," Rodrigo said. "It's too bad. We could have been a formidable team."

"Yeah," grunted Vesta. "Except one of us made the wrong choice."

Transforming back into a Pegasus, Vesta allowed her fellow Asteroids to mount her and then flew off for Crystal Tokyo.

* * *

"So that's what happened, Princess," Ves said. She was in the infirmary, sitting next to Usa's bed as the girl recovered from her knife wound. Hotaru lay in the other bed listening. "I'm sorry for all of this."

"What did you do to be sorry for?" Usa asked. "Sounds like you kept that guy from escaping with Pop's computer system."

"Wouldn't have been able to download it in the first place if he didn't have me as an excuse to visit the palace," Ves maintained. "And I might have spotted him for what he was sooner if . . ." and the girl grew uncomfortable, "I, well, hadn't gotten gooey on him."

Usa and Hotaru exchanged smiled.

"You're allowed to 'get gooey' on a guy, Ves," Usa assured her. "I don't expect my Senshi to be celibate."

"I should have spotted him," Ves scowled. "Maybe things would have gone differently if I had."

"That sounds familiar," Hotaru jabbed.

"Quiet," Usa replied. "You're not taking any heat over this, are you?"

"Not really," Ves shrugged. "Hino-Sensei's not happy. Aino-Sensei gave me this big speech about not falling for criminal types, because they'll ruin me for good men."

Usa spotted Hotaru's inquiring look.

"The 'Ace' lecture," Usa said. Hotaru nodded.

"I just," Ves continued, her anguish evident. "I feel like I let you down! And I don't want to let you down!"

"You didn't," Usa told her. "Now how are you holding up? I heard you were pretty hot for this guy. Must be rough finding out what you did."

Ves emitted a pensive sigh. "I'm," she began hesitantly, "I'll get over him. It wasn't like he wasn't hot for me. It's just - - he had things he loved more. And he couldn't give them up. I know where he was coming from. I had things I loved more than him. And I couldn't give them up either."

"Like the Asteroids?" Hotaru asked.

"That's some of it," Ves replied cryptically.

"Well I'm willing to listen if you ever want to talk. It's not like I'm going anywhere real soon," chuckled Usa. "Give me a few weeks to get over this wound and we can spar some. You can get me back into shape."

"Yeah," Ves nodded, her grin almost giddy. "Yeah, no problem." She got up to leave. "I won't go easy on you."

"I'm counting on it," Usa nodded back. Reassured, Ves exited. Usa glanced over at her roommate and saw the amazed look. "It's part of relating to my team. You strengthen bonds through common likes and goals. Besides, Ves does keep me in shape. Sparring with her is almost as good as sparring with Aunt Makoto. You should try it."

"I break too easily," Hotaru muttered. "But that was a nice thing you did for Ves. I'm not sure I would have thought of it. Makes me glad you're our leader."

And in her office just down the hall, Ami Mizuno smiled and nodded to herself in satisfaction.

Conclusion


End file.
